In Undertones
by XeroKitty
Summary: AU, SasuNaru. Uzumaki Naruto and Sharingan finally compete in the annual Battle of the Bands contest on campus. But without Uchiha Sasuke, will the band make it big or crash and burn here? [Complete!]
1. The Notebook

_**In Undertones**_

Another random fic inspired by something out of the blue. This is totally A/U; don't hurt me, I've never done this before. It's also a strongly-implied Sasu/Naru fic, so, yay!

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all of his friends do not belong to me. If they did, I'd pimp them out and make some money! Kidding. :P None of the characters, ideas, or concepts are mine (else I'd be filthy rich).

**Warning: **A/U, definite OOCness, and again, implied yaoi: Boy X Boy. Homophobes, shoo! Shoo!

**Notes: **Again, this came from nowhere. And that might be where it's headed too, but let's hope not, shall we? Part one is written from Sasuke's perspective, and part two from Naruto's. Everyone is eighteen or nineteen.

* * *

**_Part 1: Chapter 1_**

_Where is it? Where IS it! _I rifled through the papers on my desk, coming up with nothing. I glanced nervously along the classroom floor: still nothing. _Where could that damned notebook be!_ The professor is talking, but I'm not paying attention—I'm looking for my lyrics. Yeah, I said lyrics. My name's Uchiha Sasuke—I'm nineteen, a sophomore in college, and a lyricist. Or so, I'm hoping to become one. It's been my life's dream, ever since I was eight…

But let's not go there.

Not in my schoolbag either. This is bad. It's one thing to _know_ you're writing a bad song, but for someone to _tell _you you're writing is crap, well, that's worse. I've never been very good at it, really. Most of it comes out as poetry, my feelings on paper, and usually that's a good thing; an attribute of a successful writer. But I didn't want my "talent" discovered on the floor somewhere! I could already remember some of the words on one of my more recent attempts: _'Nothing matters except hearing you scream; Arched on the bed, moaning in ecstasy'… _I can feel my face getting hot already. Oh god, I hope whoever finds that notebook just returns it without reading it!

I blink when I realize that Professor Iruka has dismissed class. People are already getting up and grabbing their stuff, talking and laughing (_about me?_). I try to see if anyone's taking my notebook along with them. No luck. Slowly, I get up and shove my books and papers into my backpack. More of the words are coming and I still can't stop my face from burning: _'I've always loved you best (When you're helpless)'…_ Oh. My. God. Just kill me now, please. Lowering my head so I didn't make eye contact with anyone, I shuffled out of the classroom and into the main stairwell. I quickly joined the swarm of students making their way down the three flights and loosened up only when I exited the building's double doors and out into the wide courtyard. Late afternoon sunlight illuminated the tall, old-fashioned building ahead of me and I started forward, squinting as the glare off the windows hit my eyes. I hate sunlight, I really do. I'm not a vampire or anything, but sunlight just reminds me of my past, and my past isn't the happiest thing to remember.

_Itachi…where did you go…?_

"Oy! Uchiha!"

_Huh? _I was sure I wasn't very popular around here. Who in god's name was calling me? I turned back to the West Building and saw a glob of orange and yellow darting in and out of the packs of lounging students. It was a guy, no older than me I guessed, with spiky golden yellow hair which clashed with my vision horribly. I had to squint at him like I did at the sunlight. _Annoying…_

"Uchiha!" he called again, this time waving something over his head. I felt the bottom of my stomach drop out and I could only stare at this guy in the orange windbreaker and blue jeans as he ran toward me, my notebook clenched in one hand._ Oh. Shit._ He stopped in front of me and doubled over, one hand gripping at his side as he panted for breath, the other—with the blue notebook—on his knee, keeping him upright. Being closer, he was brighter, and I couldn't even look at him directly. Avoiding my eyes, I shoved my hands in my pockets and waited for him to catch his breath. Eventually he did, and straightened, grinning as he handed me back my book. I took it silently, glancing down at the familiar design on the front cover: a red and white paper fan, an _uchiha._

"Thanks," I mumbled, tucking it under one arm and turning around to leave.

"I wanted to give it to you in the classroom, but you were gone before I could catch you," he spoke and I stopped on obligation. If he wanted to ramble his fool head off to me, I'd let him, I just wouldn't say anything back. Well, I wasn't _planning _on it… "Are those your lyrics?"

I flinched and held the book closer to my side. "What's it to you?"

"I was just wondering, that was all," he said, and it sounded like he was still grinning. _Does he ever stop?_ "I didn't read it all, it was open on the floor and I glanced at a couple of lines." I stayed quiet. Maybe he'd take the hint and go away? "They were really good." That got me.

"…what did you read?" I turned back around. I couldn't look this guy in the eyes just yet. Not until I knew what he had seen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him adjusting a flaming red backpack on his shoulder and I winced again: _Does this kid know the meaning of the word 'subtle'? _"Do you remember?" He took a moment, slowly strangling me with his silence as he tried to remember.

Finally: "_'Here we are at the void, between zero and infinity. Slipping, tripping; opening our arms and falling'_," he recited beat for beat. I blinked, letting out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. At least it was nothing bad. "Are you a song writer?" he pressed.

"Sort of," I offered blandly.

"Sort of?" he cocked his head to one side and I could picture the smirk resting on his lips. "It's a yes or no question."

"Then, yes."

"Can I read the rest of them?"

"No."

"Why not?" he demanded, and I heard that grin slip from his face and replace itself with an exaggerated pout. "That was really good. I'd like to see the rest."

"No," I repeated, turning around again to walk back to the dorms. Unfortunately, he was going the same way.

"I won't tell anyone, I promise!" he begged.

"What part of 'no' didn't you understand?" I asked him as we entered the main building. "The 'n' or the 'o'?"

"Just one song then?" he stepped in front of me as I tried to get to the stairs. "One and I'll leave you alone."

"You swear?" I lifted an eyebrow, dodging past him and starting up.

He followed. "Oh come on, just one!"

Sighing, I rolled my eyes and moved into the second level of the rotunda, leaning against the wall by the dormitory entrance. Opening the book, I flipped through the pages, scanning them quickly (I knew all of them by heart) until I found one that wasn't too personal and I could spare being circulated around campus, and handed it to him. He took the book eagerly and brought it up to read. I closed my eyes and recited it in my head as he read it on paper:

"_And I can't shake this feeling I have  
That my voice goes unnoticed.  
Even when I kick and scream  
And even when I cry,  
I seem to be invisible  
To everyone but you.  
Silence tells me secretly  
In muted colored tones  
That you're the one to teach me  
How the sound goes.  
I wrap my arms around you  
And know I should hold tight  
But the sound is too loud now  
And I can't go any higher  
Before I break.  
Will you save me?  
Sing to me with gentle tones  
And maybe I'll be satisfied.  
Or we can rest content in silence  
Knowing what's on the other's mind;  
Or does that drive you crazy?  
Turn up the volume and bring down the roof,  
Scream at one another in silence till throats rupture  
And the blood spills  
As silent as a spider  
And hits the floor  
As loud as a shriek.  
We'll drive each other crazy  
As you take the chance to speak  
And I take the time to listen."_

He lowers the book, and for the first time since he came up to me, I see his eyes. They're blue. Bluer than a summer sky, bluer than water, bluer than…than…

"This is really good," he said, cutting off my random eye tangent. _What the hell was I thinking?_ But I'm looking into his eyes again and when he says "Do you mind if I read another?" I'm instantly flipping the pages to one I know is a little more dangerous to show off, but for some reason, I suddenly have the insane urge to bear my soul to this man. It's his eyes. Damn me for looking up; I knew I kept my head down for a good reason, but… I watch those eyes, those incredibly blue eyes, scan the page, read down the lines of my handwriting which is small and narrow and slanted and I wonder idly how in the hell this guy can read my chicken scratch, but now he's looking at me again and oh god I'm loosing myself in his eyes, those insanely blue eyes… He's saying something. I see his mouth moving but his voice is muted dully in my ears. I briefly notice his has three scars running along each of his round, tan cheeks, but that's all insignificant. Oh god his _eyes._

"Yo, earth to Uchiha!"

I snap out of it. Thank god. "Did…you say something?" I try not to stammer, I don't think I did.

He gives me a funny look though: "I said, you're really talented. How long have you been doing this?"

"Oh, um…" I think back quickly. "A little more than ten years." He looks at me like I'm joking. I kind of wish I were, considering the circumstances under which I started writing in the first place.

"You've got a gift…Sasuke," he hesitates, looking up at me apologetically with those soulful blue eyes. So what if he just addressed me like an old friend? It didn't matter, as long as he kept looking at me…

"Thanks," is what I manage to say, when I what I really want to say is _the next thing I want to write about is your eyes._ But I don't. I control myself. Barely.

"Um, listen, about these lyrics…" he starts nervously and now I'm paying attention. He didn't strike me as a nervous person. "I was wondering… Well, you see, I've had this idea for a while, and…" He takes a deep breath and closes my notebook with a sharp snap, making me jump. "I want you!"

I don't think I've ever been that red before. I open my mouth to say something, but all that comes out is a breathless protest-like sound. He lifts up my book and waves it in my face. "Your lyrics," he continues. "I finally found a lyricists for my band!"

"Band…?" I finally choke out.

"Yeah! I want you to be in my band! You can write all the music! You can even sing them, if you'd like!" He thinks for a second. "Can you sing?"

"I… I've honestly never tried before," I blink. _Band? Lyricist? What the fuck?_

"Well, you can now!" he grins, handing me back my book. I take it silently; I'm still shocked dumb. "I wanted to be lead singer, but if you can top me, by all means!" He looks excited, and his eyes have become wild. I'm getting high off that look in his eye; it's insane. "I can play the guitar really well, if I do say so myself! So, how about it?"

My eyes are blinking, which means I'm alive. So that meant I needed to breathe. Taking in a lungful of air and letting it out in a rush, I can only stare at this blond-haired, blue-eyed glob of sunshine. And I suddenly realize that I'm no longer squinting. _Am I used to him _already?

"Yeah," I say, and catch myself saying it, but I do nothing about it. Why not try a band? It could be fun… "Yeah, sure."

"Excellent!" he grabs my hand and shakes it eagerly. "The name's Uzumaki! Uzumaki Naruto!"

_Naruto, huh…?_

"Like the fishcakes in ramen?" I lift an eyebrow.

"Oh, do shut up," he groans, but he's smiling. And to top off everything that's happened, I'm smiling with him.


	2. Band Tryouts

**_Part 1: Chapter 2_**

He strums his guitar. "I was thinking of making a tune to those lyrics you let me read yesterday," he says absentmindedly, still brushing his fingers gently over the strings. Naruto plays the bass guitar, and he has one up in his dorm room (which he shares with no one). Lucky—I've got two other roommates and absolutely _no_ privacy, which I loathe; I need privacy like I need air, seriously.

"The one about silence?" I lift an eyebrow. "Ironic."

"Well, you haven't let me read most of the others yet," he makes a face, twanging one of the shiny wires rather sharply. I don't see it in his face, but I'm pretty sure he's disappointed. It's strange, I've only known Uzumaki Naruto for about a week and I can pretty much tell what the guy's thinking. It's not too hard to understand him though; he's like an open book. I know he wants to read my entire notebook, but I'm not so sure about that yet. I agreed to the band thing, yeah, but these were my heart and soul—these lyrics were my entire life. I wasn't about to let just _anyone_ read them.

"So, you put up fliers then?" I asked him. He gave me that brilliant, full-toothed grin and reached across the bed, grabbing a bright orange flyer from his desk and tossing it in my direction. It fluttered lazily into my lap and I picked it up, holding it as far from my eyes as I possibly could as I read the bold black letters on it: **BAND MEMBERS NEEDED! _All applicants MUST play an instrument! If interested, contact Uzumaki Naruto (box 323) or Uchiha Sasuke (box 26). Auditions will be held this weekend in the Breezeway Common Room at ten p.m. (Saturday and Sunday)!_** "If the demands don't get anyone's attention, the color will," I said.

"What's wrong with orange? It happens to be my favorite color!" he huffed.

"Nothing, if you don't mind going blind."

"You can't get _blind _off of _colors_ dork!" He threw his orange jacket at me. I pretended to fall back in convulsions. He laughed and I sat up, unconsciously fixing my hair. I like my hair, it's one of the few good traits I have. It's long, but not too long, and so black that it looks blue in the sunlight, which I think is kind of cool. Naruto has already commented on the fact that I fix my hair more than a normal girl does, which I denied of course. Speaking of Naruto, a strange look suddenly came over his round, tan face and he leaned back against the wall his bed was pushed up against, lifting the guitar into his lap again. I watched in silence as he plucked a few random notes out and finally spoke what was on his mind, but he didn't look at me when he did so. "Oy, Sasuke… Why did you become a lyricist?"

I can feel the bad memories coming back, like an old nightmare one really never forgets. It was kind of like a nightmare, in its own right. But it was real enough that I almost wished it _were _a nightmare instead. Sitting back on the fire-hydrant red beanbag on his room floor, I laced my fingers together and looked at them for a long time before I started. I swear this kid had to be a hypnotist or something; every time he asked me a question, I had to answer. _Is this what they mean by overwhelming personalities?_

"My parents died when I was eight years old. My older brother, Itachi, decided he couldn't shoulder the burden of raising an eight year old by himself, especially when he had plans to go to college overseas. So he packed up my belongings and sent me to an orphanage." I looked up at the blond to see he was staring out at nothing, his blue eyes glazed over. I thought he wasn't listening after all, but when I paused, he lifted a slim yellow eyebrow and picked a sharp note off the cords, almost as if he were telling me with his guitar to continue. Which, oddly enough, I did. "I lived at the orphanage until last year, when I was eighteen, and I got a scholarship to this school. I moved here, using some money my parents had put away before the accident." _Twang!_ went Naruto's guitar. "A car crash. They were coming home from an office party at my dad's job when someone from another party swerved into their lane and forced them off the road. They died." _Duh, Sasuke,_ I told myself. The other man was quiet, even his random picking at the bass guitar had ceased. I suddenly felt nervous. _Did I say too much…?_

"I asked," he spoke up suddenly, as if he had read my thoughts. I blinked at him as he placed the guitar at the foot of his bed and stretched out, crossing his arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. "I didn't know my parents," he spoke up simply, as if he were discussing baseball or something. "I grew up my whole life in foster homes, moving from family to family. I was a problem child." He grinned at me, that squinty-eyed, all-consuming grin that filled his entire face but looked so _empty._ "When I turned seventeen, I finally decided it would be better to live on my own, so I've had to work a bunch of odd jobs in order to rent out this place above a family-owned ramen shop back home," he shrugged.

"Is that…" I cleared my throat nervously, "where the name Uzumaki came from?"

He nodded with another blank smile. "I love ramen, and I didn't have a last name, so, I thought I'd just name myself," he rolled onto his side to look at me, leaning his cheek against his hand and propping him up slightly. "I got a special scholarship with the school because of my entrance exam scores; I studied my ass off for those tests," he laughed and I felt my heart squeeze painfully. _Naruto…_ "And so, here I am."

"Here we are," I corrected automatically. He blinked and then gave me another smile: a soft, gentle curve of his lips that made his eyes glow warmly. I liked this smile _much_ better.

"Yes," he winked at me, "we are."

* * *

The Breezeway Common Room usually emptied out by eight; that's about the time the other students realize it's the weekend and they should be out partying. That's okay; I'm not one for parties anyway. I'd rather watch Naruto finish up his set-up, which I have to admit, is pretty impressive. He managed to talk the music department into lending him a couple of basic instruments and equipment. At least I'm not the only one he can get anything from. He plugs in the amp and I wince as the feedback practically knocks me off the speaker I'm sitting on. I hurriedly get up and throw myself on one of the couches instead, looking at the blond apprehensively.

"Sorry about that," he chuckles, and I know he's not. Damn him.

"Do you think anyone will show up?" I ask. He gives me the usual grin that says _'absolutely!' _and I grimace, glancing at the door. I hope, for my sanity's sake, someone makes an appearance. Naruto's still fiddling with the stuff when two girls walk in. They're holding hands. One is tall, shapely, and has long light blonde hair that makes her almond-shaped green eyes stand out amazingly from her oval face. The shorter girl has a more innocent appearance, with a heart-shaped face, cotton candy pink hair cut short, and large aqua eyes. Naruto checks them out with interest until he too notices the hands and grins at them happily.

"Here to watch?" he asks.

"Actually, yeah," the blonde tosses her blond ponytail back and jerks her thumb at the other girl. "I'm here to watch her try out."

"You're gonna try out?" I have to laugh at Naruto's expression when he says this. I know from his face he thinks she's cute, but he also never thought about a _girl_ playing on his band until now.

"Is there a problem with that?" she releases the taller girl's hand and steps forward, her hands on her hips. She's not being bitchy, she's just being assertive I suppose. And I guess Naruto thought that as well, and also shared my afterthought of _unless we piss her off _because he shrugged and pointed at the set-up near the front of the room.

"Pick your instrument and show us what you've got," he steps back and sits beside me. I notice, not for the first time, that he and I are total opposites: he's wearing his lucky orange jacket and dark red-orange shorts that come down to below his knees, his hair is haphazardly tucked behind a red headband tied tight, and he sits slouched back with one arm dangling over the back of the couch. I could never, in my life, be seen like that. I could never pull it off was closer to the truth; I'm an extremely neat person—dark navy blue turtleneck over long, neatly pressed black jeans, my hair slicked back and my bangs arched over my forehead and brushing just above my eyes. I'm sitting up straight, one arm on the arm of the couch and the other in my lap, holding onto my notebook. I never go anywhere without it.

As my brain flashed over these random, unimportant details (I was telling myself this), the pink-haired girl had walked up to the electric guitar and was hefting it more like a weapon than an instrument. Naruto and I exchanged the same worried glance. The blond that had come in with her plopped down on the other side of Naruto and leaned forward eagerly, her fingers tugging on the ends of her ponytail. The girl up on the set-up slung the guitar strap over her shoulder and adjusted it properly, plucking at a few cords and reaching up on the neck to tune them until she was satisfied with its sound. Naruto nodded to himself—he knew way more about this than I did.

"Right," he said. "Do you know some opening chords? Just a few, from songs you like and such." She nodded and looked down at the sleek black instrument in her hands, then adjusted her fingers on the bars and began strumming. Even I recognized the song. Naruto whistled in appreciation. "Okay, another one." She adjusted her fingers again and changed the beat of her hand's strokes, picking up the tempo of another song. The blond girl squealed and clapped her hands happily, and the girl playing the guitar beamed back at her. Without being ordered to do so, she switched songs again, the beat making a one-eighty and coming out on the amps slow and steady. We didn't need to hear anymore. She was awesome, hands down.

"Do you have your own guitar?" I asked.

She nodded. "Cobra Special, Mahogany body and Translucent Cherry finish."

Naruto looked like he had just died. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Why would she be?" the other girl scoffed. "I got it for her."

"You're in," Naruto stood up abruptly. "Welcome to the band, er…"

"Haruno Sakura," she took off the guitar and set it down against the wall. "This is my girlfriend, Yamanaka Ino."

"So, you really like Sakura?" the blond girl grinned. "Isn't she great?"

"Yes, she is," I nodded, speaking strictly about her abilities as a guitarist.

"So is her guitar," Naruto mumbled in my ear and I snickered. The two girls looked at me and I rubbed my nose.

"Sneezed, sorry."

"Bless…you," Sakura looked a tad bit unconvinced.

"Is she the only one to audition tonight?" Ino glanced around.

"So far, yes," I explained. "But she's got talent. However, I'm only lyricist, it's up to the bass player here," I motioned to Naruto.

He nudged me. "What are you talking about? We'll be singing _your _lyrics! So you _have_ to have a say!"

"And I say she's good!" I nudged him back. "What else do you want? A written confession?"

"Um… Are we…interrupting?"

The four of us turned to the small voice at the door. A young-looking girl with short black hair was standing in the doorway, a group of four boys behind her. Her eyes were a startling, offsetting white, and she held a small white dog in her arms.

"Not at all," I cleared my throat and stepped forward to let them in. The biggest kid shoved his way up beside the girl and snarled softly at me. _Snarled?_ I backed off pretty quickly.

"Relax, Kiba," she said gently and his glare instantly disappeared. Then she turned back to look at me… At least, I _think_she was looking at me. "They're here to try out for the band. This is Aburame Shino," a guy with spiky black hair and sunglasses nodded in my direction, "my cousin, Hyuuga Neji," the other guy on her right hand side had his long black hair tied back loosely and nodded as the first did, "Nara Shikamaru," the called-upon boy gave a lazy half-glance and a wave, "and Inuzuka Kiba, my best friend." The aforementioned slightly winced but gave a stern nod, crossing his arms over his chest. The small white dog in the girl's arms yipped once. "Oh, how stupid of me," she shook her head. "My name is Hyuuga Hinata, and this is my dog Akamaru."

"I didn't know they allowed pets on campus," Ino blinked.

"How sweet!" Sakura cooed.

"They don't," Kiba answered gruffly, placing a hand gently on Hinata's back and steering her toward a comfy-looking armchair. He seemed to be saying nothing else on this topic, and when he sat Hinata down, he instantly plopped down beside her. I didn't want to guess and offend anyone, but it was pretty obvious why she was allowed to have the dog. The other three boys sat on separate couches and chairs, still keeping close to the girl that they all seemed to follow relentlessly.

Hinata turned her head toward Kiba's direction and lay a pale hand on his shoulder. "I want to hear you play the drums first, Kiba," she smiled at him. "Then I want to hear Neji on the synthesizer! And Shino and Shikamaru too! Can they start?" she turned her head back toward me.

"Sure," Naruto spoke up and she turned her head in that direction. He came over and took her hand, not flinching as Kiba let out a threatening growl. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, bassist. My friend Uchiha Sasuke and I are still looking for a synthesizer keyboardist, a drummer, and possibly a back-up singer," he inclined an eyebrow. "A _female_ back-up singer."

"Hey, Hinata! You can try out too!" Kiba exclaimed, looking too much like an excited puppy. The blind girl laughed and shook Naruto's hand.

"Thank you, Uzumaki."

"You can call me Naruto."

"Thank you, Naruto," she corrected herself.

"So then, who's first?" Naruto glanced up at the others in the room.

"I just realized that playing the drums takes work, so, I'm not even going to bother," Shikamaru waved feebly and leaned back in his chair, looking both tired and bored. People like him amazed me. Really.

"Okay then, how about you, Kiba? You're our only applicant for the drums, it seems," Naruto smiled down at the other man. The larger stood and straightened his fur-lined coat, adjusting the hood on his head nervously.

"Yeah, okay…" he mumbled, shuffling forward.

"Yay, Kiba!" Hinata clapped and her dog, Akamaru, barked excitedly. I wasn't a full-out people-person like Naruto was, but I could tell there was a definite story behind this girl and her best friend, and even the dog. I suddenly found myself excited to be working in a group for the first time in…I can't remember how long. I remember always being a loner at the orphanage, always being the quiet, anti-social boy in the corner that no one approached. And now Kiba was walking up to the drums, Hinata was cheering for him, and the others all encouraged with their own clapping (except for Shikamaru, but that somehow didn't surprise me). Naruto glanced at me and grinned. A full, happy grin.

I grinned back.


	3. Kiba's Problem

**_Part 1: Chapter 3_**

Inuzuka Kiba sat behind the cobalt blue acoustic drum set and picked up the light wood sticks, looking slightly nervous. His narrow yellow eyes skipped around the room and fell behind the majority of us—I didn't have to follow his stare to know he was looking at the pale, dark-haired girl. It was almost painful to watch him, with the unrequited love issue looming over him. And I got an idea.

I glanced over at Naruto, "Do you mind if I give him something?"

"By all means," he gestured toward the set-up. I opened up my notebook and walked up to an apprehensive-looking Kiba. I handed him the book and pointed at the page I wanted him to read. He looked down at the book in his hands and I saw his eyes scan the page dutifully. Then he looked up at me again, this time in shock. I nodded and took the notebook back.

"Play that," I said. "Invent a rhythm to it." I crossed the room back to where the others were and sat on the same couch I had for Sakura's audition. Naruto plopped down beside me and gave me a questioning stare. I shook my head and inclined it toward the guy in front of us. He looked at a loss for a second or two, then he closed his eyes and tapped a cymbal lightly: _tik, tik tik tik, tah. Tik, tik tik tik, tah. _I counted the beats in my head; would four be enough? _Ta-ra tat ah, tik tik tah-ah. _I blinked. He changed beats in mid-song? Now that was interesting. I saw Naruto's eyebrows shoot up and he looked over at me quickly. _Ta-ra tik tik, tik tik tik, tah tah. _I assumed Kiba was working out a beat in his head, because his eyes were still tightly shut and he had a mask of concentration on his flushed face. And finally…

_**Ta-ra-rum tah tum tum, tum-tum tum tum, ta-ta-tum, RUM!**_

The drums were suddenly singing hard, and Naruto and I both watched in awe as Kiba played with all his heart to impress the girl he loved—I don't even think he cared about the audition anymore. **_Bah-pa-pa! Trum!_ **I glanced over my shoulder at the others: Sakura and Ino were snuggling on a couch together, oblivious; Shikamaru and Shino both looked uninterested, as if they had heard him play a million times; Neji was looking up at Kiba as the other performed, his eyebrows drawn tight in a frown; Hinata was hugging Akamaru close, her smile gone and her blank eyes closed as she listened to the music coming from in front of her. I grinned to myself as I turned back around. _My ideas are kick ass sometimes._

Kiba lost his groove after another half minute and his music faltered. Instant Problem: lack of concentration. Which could be dealt with. But for now, seeing the look on my blond friend's face, we had a drummer.

"Okay, okay!" Naruto stood and Kiba stopped, looking for the world like a suddenly-kicked puppy. "You're good. A kink or so to work out, but that's fine—"

"It was excellent!" Hinata cried from her chair in the back. Kiba blushed dark red.

"You're in, Kiba," I quickly finished what Naruto had been saying. "Do you have a drum set of your own?"

"Yamaha RD2F56W, five-piece acoustic, six-ply Mahogany shells, black, double-braced frame," he said automatically. From the blank stare Naruto was giving him, he didn't understand enough about drums to be impressed either. But if this guy owned _anything_, I'm sure he'd want the best. I was convinced.

"Here?" Naruto asked. "On campus? Or at home?"

"It's back home," he looked ashamed. "But I can call my dad up and ask him to bring it when he visits."

"When's that?"

"Two weeks."

"Right, so for now, we'll continue borrowing the school's set. We'll say it's for educational purposes," Naruto winked at me. "Thanks. Come back so we can have the next audition." Kiba rose and Akamaru leapt from Hinata's arms, running up to him and yipping excitedly. He scooped up the white dog and ran a hand back through his hair (his hood had fallen off while he had been playing), crossing to Hinata's chair and handing her the dog again.

"Akamaru, you stay with Hinata at all times," he commanded softly, in a voice unlike the one he used while speaking to his peers. At his words, the dog barked the affirmative and snuggled into the girl's lap. Naruto called again for next applicant.

Neji stood slowly. "I'll go," he said and I shivered at the cold in his voice. _And they call _me_ an anti-social bastard?

* * *

_

"Try-outs were amazing!" Naruto grinned, zipping up the electric guitar case. I nodded, working around the drums that were apparently going to stay here for two more weeks.

"Everyone so far seems to have some real talent or love of music," I agreed.

"By the way," he began unplugging the amps, "what did you have Kiba play?"

"The first thing you read," I answered simply, lowering the microphone stands. "Hinata was a good singer. Not too bad. Are you really considering a back-up singer?"

"Well, I said that because it suddenly hit me, really," he admitted with a shy grin. "If you're not okay with it though, we don't have to say yes to her tomorrow."

"I think it's an okay idea," I shrugged. "You can't sing them all, right?"

"I thought you were our lead singer," Naruto blinked at me.

"We never agreed on it," I shook my head. "Like I said, I've never tried singing before."

Naruto glanced around, then pointed at the microphone in my hand. "Try now."

"What? Here?" I glanced around.

"No," Naruto rolled his eyes with a grin, "we'll just drag a mike, a stand, and a speaker up to my room and you can do it there."

"Ha," I threw his headband at him. How it had ended up in my possession, I can't really remember. I think he asked me to hold it while he started taking the set-up away and I just joined him. He picked up the red cloth and stuck his tongue out at me, tucking it into his back pocket.

"I'd like you to be lead singer," he admitted with something that looked like a blush—I couldn't fully tell, his face was turned down. "So really, who don't you try? You never know until you try."

"Later," I promised, slinging the three mike stands over my shoulder and maneuvering my way out the door of the student lounge and into the Breezeway. The music room was in the West Building, across the street from the school (why they built a school building nearly two blocks away, I'll never understand). Naruto followed me out with the guitar over his shoulder and two speakers under each arm. As we crossed the street, two shadows against the bank's concrete wall caught my attention. I stopped and Naruto did too, opening his mouth to say something and I shot him a glare: _Shut up!_ We watched the two shadows swelling and bouncing as the flickering lamplight overhead both disclosed and then hid their position.

"I'm warning you, Inuzuka, stay away from my cousin."

"Look, Neji, she needs me—"

"Don't address me like you know me, street mutt."

A low growl. "The only reason I'm not gonna hit you is because of Hinata."

"I don't care if you think she loves you. She doesn't."

"I'll let her tell me that."

One of the speakers under Naruto's arm slipped and he silently flailed for balance, trying to stop it from hitting the floor.

"If you go near her again, Inuzuka, I'll kick your ass."

"Are you going to be the one to explain to her why her best friend's not spending time with her anymore?"

"All you have to do is not talk around her. She's blind; you won't be missed for long."

Naruto _did_ drop the speaker. I almost lost my hold on the stands. The loud _bang_ echoed up the night sidewalk and Kiba leapt out from the shadows, his eyes darting around quickly. They landed on us and he looked from me to Naruto and back curiously.

"Ah…sorry!" Naruto grinned, reaching down and recovering the speaker. "It's a lot of stuff to carry. Did I scare you, Kiba?"

"Hell no," he growled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So… Need any help?"

He sounded so desperate. "Yeah, we do," I offered. "There's a ton of more stuff back in the lounge, but, help Naruto for now."

"Took on more than I can handle, that sort of thing," he laughed nervously. Kiba lifted an eyebrow as he came over, taking three of the speakers from the blond and stacking them in his arms. Then he led the way to the music room. I looked back at the corner he and Neji had been arguing under, but I couldn't see the other man. He had probably left as soon as the sound startled them both.

"Um, Kiba…" I tried. "What…was that all about? With Neji?" I saw him visibly flinch and I regretted my prying. "Sorry," I said quickly.

"…I'll explain everything, just not out here," he mumbled as Naruto pulled open the gymnasium doors with his now-free hand.

"We'll go to my room," he offered.

* * *

"_Hinata was born with an illness. The doctors said she would loose at least one of her senses by the time she was six, and they were right—she lost her eyesight at age five, ironically, right after we met for the first time. She's a wonderful person, Hinata is. Born into a family of assholes, and the only redeeming quality about them, really. The only one that's more protective of her than myself is her first cousin, Neji; this guy will stop at nothing in order to keep her blissfully ignorant from pain. But only I know Hinata well enough to say that she'd rather endure a lifetime of hardship with her friends than be ignorant to the world. She's blind, not incompetent._

"_I've loved her since as long as I can remember. I think it started when I first learned about her illness. All I could think about were ways to make it better for her when it finally happened. That's why I gave her Akamaru when we started attending different schools—I wasn't there to help her anymore, and Neji's constant nagging would drive her crazy, so the dog was the only other option. He's not a trained seeing-eye dog, but he grew up with Hinata and I and he knows her as well as he knows me, so, he understands that he has to do everything to keep her out of danger. The school let him stay under the conditions that neither I nor Neji would be in every single one of her classes."

* * *

_

"I knew it," I said, leaning back in the rolling computer chair. Which was bright purple. "You're head over heels in love with Hinata."

"Is it that obvious?" he blushed, tugging at the ends of his jacket.

Naruto nodded: "Even I noticed man, and I'm dense as hell."

Kiba laughed at this. "Sorry for the lovesick puppy syndrome."

"It's alright," I waved it off. "But you have to know that we're considering Neji as the keyboardist. That means being in the same place with him, sometimes for hours at once."

"I know," Kiba grunted, making a face. "I'll play nice, as long as he doesn't start with me."

"We'll have a talk with him too," Naruto put in. "But anyway, on a lighter note, Hinata might be in the band with us as a back-up singer."

"Really? You liked her?" he looked happy.

"She needs to overcome a major case of insecurity," I mumbled.

"She is pretty insecure about herself," Kiba nodded reluctantly.

"You heard me?" I blinked.

He nodded. "I have dog-like hearing; it's an advantage."

"Remind me not to whisper around you," I lifted an eyebrow.

"Well, Kiba, you need to help her over that," Naruto made a face, shifting on his bed. "She's very pretty, you know. No wonder Neji's so overprotective." A growl. I gave Naruto the _shut up_ glare again. "Don't worry," he laughed. "I've already got my eye on someone else."

I blinked at him. _He did?_ "I wasn't aware of this."

"Secret," he winked at me.

"You nearly blackmail me to read my lyrics, and they you won't tell me who you've got a crush on? You suck man," I made a face.

"It's all outta love, Sasuke," he laughed. "All outta love."

Kiba shifted his weight back on the red beanbag chair and scoffed: "You guys are so gay."

Naruto threw a pillow at him; I threw a crumpled up flyer. Then the three of us laughed.


	4. The Shakuhachi

**Notes: **Wow, you guys like this story more than I thought you would! ; Thanks for all the reviews so far—they keep me going, really! Oh, and a biiiiiiiiiiiig thank you to **akai amaterasu** for letting me know Ino's eyes are in fact blue and not green! My bad! And thanks for the big review too! (by the way, my brother's a music freak and I've taken classes; I love music a lot )

* * *

**_Part 1: Chapter 4_**

Sunday's practice wasn't as successful, and so we stuck with Kiba and Sakura. We told Neji and Shino we'd get back to them about our pick of the synthesized keyboard player, and Hinata agreed to be an on-call singer; she promised to fine-tune her voice a little bit. We had all the main parts of a normal band, but Naruto said he wanted something more. He just didn't know what. It wasn't until I was researching traditional music for a paper due in Ancient Culture class that I quite possibly stumbled onto the answer…

* * *

"_Brother! Brother, teach me how to play that thing!"_

"_This? But Suke, this is a traditional Japanese instrument; it's nothing like the guitars and drums you're interested in."_

"_But you make such pretty sounds with it, brother! It's much better than any instrument I've ever heard!"_

"_Well…as a song writer, I suppose you need to be open to different instruments and styles…"_

"_Do you mean it?"_

"_Yeah. We'll start practice tomorrow, how's that?"_

"_Thank you, Itachi!"

* * *

_

"Traditional instruments?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What, you mean, like a _koto _or something?"

"Yeah," I handed him my research paper. "The _koto_, the _shamisen_, and the _shakuhachi_."

His sky blue eyes roved over the paper, one of his eyebrows cocked in semi-amusement. After skimming through the article, he looked up at me with that same skeptical look. "It says they're traditionally used in temples and folk songs."

"That's true, but it could add that thing you're missing from your music," I pressed. "Think about it—no other band out there has traditional Japanese instruments."

"You have a point," he nodded. "But where would we get our hands on these kinds of instruments? Your paper says they can only be found in museums and temples."

"And homes of the wealthy," I added, opening his door.

"Where are you going?" he sat up, blinking at me.

"To my room—come on," I closed the door and started walking down the hall, a grin on my face.

"Sasuke!" I heard his voice coming from inside the room. "Wait up!" _Shuffle. Thump. Shuffle shuffle. _"Sa-su-keeeeeeeeee!" Naruto hopped out of his dorm room, pulling on his orange jacket. "Wait for me, I said!" I ducked into the inner stairwell and headed down the two flights to my own floor, still grinning. "Dammit man!" he cried. _Ka-THUMP! Ka-THUMP! Ka-THUMP! _He bounded down the stairs after me. I clapped a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.

We exited the stairs on the second floor and I turned down my hall to face my room all the way at the end. Naruto practically ejected himself out into the hallway, stumbling and trying to follow all at once. I grabbed my keys and began unlocking the door, knocking as it swung open.

"I'm back," I called, entering. Naruto followed—he'd never been in my room before.

"You're back rather early," the red-head with the tattoo over his left eyepeeked over the top of his book from his position on the bed.

"Uzumaki Naruto, my roommate Isoshigi Garra," I pointed. "And that one at the desk over there is Akusui Haku."

The black-haired, slightly effeminate man turned and gave Naruto a good-natured wave. "Hello, Uzumaki! You can call me Haku."

"Call me Naruto," the blond nodded back.

"Garra," my other roommate closed the book he was reading and laced his fingers together, looking at the newcomer. "So, you've been stealing my roommate."

"Aha," Naruto grinned. "Sasuke hasn't told you? I snagged him as lyricist for my band!"

"You have a band?" Haku looked excited. "Really? Sasuke never told us!"

"He didn't?" I could feel Naruto glaring at me and I shuffled over to the triple closets over by the back of the room. "Haku, do you mind if I show him your _koto_?"

"You have a _koto_?" Naruto whirled on Haku, who laughed.

"Yes, it's been in my family for years," he admitted. "But no one was really interested in carrying out the tradition anymore, so I took it and taught myself how to play. My family runs a shrine," he guessed the next question.

"I play the synthesizer," Garra said off-handedly. And that's when Naruto saw the keyboard set up in red-head's corner. "Yamaha MOTIF ES8, eighty eight key synthesizer," he added at the blonde's long stare.

"This solves our little problem," he mumbled to me and I had to agree. As long as Neji and Kiba weren't in the same place, all was good.

"Garra, do you want to play a bit?" I gestured toward our guest, coming back with the _koto _in my hands. "We're still looking for a synth player for the band."

"Band, huh?" Garra rose and slipped behind his board, tweaking a few knobs and sliding some switches before he lay his fingers on the keys.

* * *

"So, we have Sakura on electric guitar," Naruto scribbled down on the back of a leftover flyer. "Kiba on drums—which we still have to borrow from the school. Garra on the synthesizer…"

"Liked him, huh?" I grinned.

In response I got a wide eyed stare. "And me on bass guitar. Now, there's you as singer," he lifted an eyebrow at me.

"I promise I'll let you hear my singing before our first concert," I smiled innocently at him. He threw his pillow at me and kept on thinking aloud.

"Hinata agreed to do backup, and this _koto_ thing," he frowned. "We'll try it, but it's not a definite."

"And the _shakuhachi_?" I cleared my throat.

"Can you play it?" he pointed at the case in my hands and I flinched. After a moment of silence, he put the paper and pencil down on the bed and leaned over to look at me. I looked up into his eyes and felt the exact same way I had the first time I looked into them—blissfully lost. "Sasuke," he called me name and I shivered slightly. There was something about his tone of voice that registered as sensual in my brain, but I wasn't about to admit that…like I did just now… "What's up with you?" he continued. "You seem bothered."

"I'm not bothered," I lied and he knew it.

He gave me a bemused look: "Yeah, that wasn't a lie, and this isn't me flipping you off." He did so. I gave a soft, feeble laugh and he glared at me. So I sighed and looked down at the battered black _shakuhachi _case in my lap and traced the child-like paper fan symbol etched into its cover.

"My family was rich; we owned and headed a major computer software designcorporation," I felt my hands shaking, so I gripped the cover tighter. "That's how my mom afforded to buy this when she saw it in a market somewhere; I can't remember where. And she taught my older brother how to play. And I, in turn, learned from him."

"These are…good memories, right?" Naruto looked uncertain.

I lowered my eyes and shook my head. "I hate my brother. I hate him for how he just left, without caring about what happened to me." I hugged the case close to my chest. "I know it sounds selfish but I can't forgive him! I just can't…" I was crying and I couldn't stop myself. It always happened when I thought about my brother for too long, but I had never really talked about him to anyone before. Naruto was the first.

"O-Oy…" he slipped onto the floor beside me, "Sasuke, are you…alright?"

"Does it _look _like I'm alright, _dobe_?" I glared at him through my tears. He had a half-grin on his face, but his eyes were dead serious.

"I'm sorry I keep prying," he sighed. "It's just that…ever since I met you I want to know everything about you—the good and the bad. I want to know you, why you became a song writer, why I can't get you out of my head…" I froze and I felt him tense up beside me as well. _He…thinks about me?_ An arm slid around my shoulders and I looked to him, seeing the red on his cheeks and the determined look on his face. "I… I want to help you, okay?" he continued, lowering his eyes sheepishly. "I know what it's like to be alone, but you know what a family is first hand and that's something I can't help you with." I had forgotten that Naruto hadn't even had a family to miss. I felt terrible and stupid; how can I go on like this while he's had so much worse…? Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned against him, closing my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto," I murmured against his neck. "I'm such an idiot."

"W-Whoa, hey, calm down there," he said, and I felt the vibrations on my forehead, I _felt_ his voice in my _head_. I was getting dizzy and happy and sleepy all at once.

"I'll sing for you," I heard myself promise as I slipped into a state between awake and asleep. "And the song will be just for you…"

And he held me. He didn't throw me off and he didn't complain. He put his other arm around me and smiled to himself, closing his eyes. The red in his cheeks receded, but not fully. And we stayed like that for a long time.

* * *

"Sasuke…"

_Who's voice is that? It's beautiful._

"Come on, Sasuke, wake up."

_But there's an angel in my dreams. I don't want to go yet…_

"Oy, Uchiha!"

I snapped back to reality, where I was lying on the floor with Naruto, my face pressed against his chest. I blinked and looked up into hiseyes at a total loss of words. But he didn't look upset. In fact, he looked rather amused.

"Naruto…?" I mumbled in a sleep-filled voice. _How long was I out? _"What time is it?"

"Around two thirty," he said quietly, running a finger across my cheek. The touch made my face flush and I sat up abruptly, looking away and hurriedly wiping my wet cheeks. It still tingled where he had touched his finger to my skin. "You fell asleep," he stated the obvious. "I didn't want to wake you. You were…" he shook his head, blond strands of hair falling into his swirling blue eyes. "Anyway, I'll finish the list right now. You get to bed. And you can leave the _shakuhachi _here—we might be able to use it after all. That is," he added as an afterthought, "if you don't mind playing it. Though I'd really like to hear."

I stood, looked at the black case on the floor, and picked it up, placing it on his desk. "Yeah, you hold on to it," I said, turning for the door and scooping up my notebook on the way out. "I'll…see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah," he grinned. "Goodnight, Sasuke."

"Night," I let myself out and shut the door behind me. Closing my eyes briefly, I leaned lightly against the door of my friend's room and took in a deep breath. As I was staring into Naruto's eyes earlier, I had remembered the second meaning of the word _'uzumaki'_—it meant 'spiral'. And that's just what I was doing. I was tumbling, spiraling down into the abyss that was the infinite blue of his eyes. I was getting lost in him, slowly, surely; I couldn't deny that. I felt him there, hesitating on the other side of the door just like I was. That was the funny thing about Naruto and myself—we were totally different, from styles of clothing to favorite foods, but the one thing we had in common was hidden emotion. Like I've said, I know Naruto like the back of my hand and it's only been three weeks that we've been friends. I know him so well because like it or not, we're alike. The lock clicks into place behind me. I take it as the final notice and stalk back to my room. Garra is snoring on the bottom bunk and the top is empty. I look over to Haku's desk where he's sitting in front of his Sony Vaio T3 laptop, typing diligently. I lock the door behind me.

"Oh, Sasuke, you're in late," he looks up from the screen and smiles gently at me. I attempt a weak smile back but just end up plopping down in my desk chair and looking over at him. He's still smiling, waiting patiently for me to say something.

"I want to write a song," I speak up in the darkness between us.

"Well, what's stopping you?" he asks.

I think for a minute before answering: "Nothing." I turn on my desk lamp and angle it away from the beds so as not to disturb our sleeping roommate. I open my notebook and lay it on the desk, the new blank page staring back at me like a white, unblinking eye. Haku puts his computer on standby and shuts the cover, yawning softly into his hand as he crosses the room.

"Good luck," he tells me and climbs up into his bed atop Garra's. I take a pen from the desk drawer beside me. It's blue. I smile slightly and start writing.

"_Your eyes…"_


	5. Akamaru's Death

**Notes: **I'm updating so fast! Yay! It's just because I have no life and no one's kicked me off the computer yet, so, yay again:P Again, to **akai amaterasu**, thank you for the long review and the favorites listing:D I appreciate I have such a cool fan of my work! And to answer your questions, I was in chorus when I was younger, and in highschool, I took guitar class. I'm glad I'm not going too OOC with these people (I've never written an A/U before), and don't worry. That '-ish' will go away reeeeeeeeeeeeeal soon! XD I hate the filler stuff, ya know? Anyway, chapter five!

* * *

**_Part 1: Chapter 5_**

There was another meeting called for all those who participated in the band tryouts this past weekend. Naruto and I sat on the larger couch which we had turned to face the other chairs and couches.

"Alright people, thanks for coming!" Naruto cleared his throat over the din of the crowd gathered in the common room. Looking at them all together, I now realized just _how_ many people responded to Naruto's request. Then again, it _was _a liberal arts college. "We've got the final list for the band right here." He waved the orange flyer he had written on the night before over his head. "If you didn't make the cut, I'm sorry. It was hard to choose, really! But if you still want a shot at being in the band, I'm looking for a composer to work alongside Sasuke here," he gestured to me. I blinked. This was news. He glanced over at me apologetically before continuing. "Okay, electric guitarist is Haruno Sakura."

"YAAAAAAAAAAY!" Ino screamed, hugging her pink-haired girlfriend. Sakura blushed and giggled and beamed proudly.

"Congratulations," he grinned. "Our drummer is Inuzuka Kiba." He howled. Hinata cheered in happiness as the others clapped. Akamaru barked excitedly. When they calmed down, Naruto continued once more. "Congrats to you too, man. Alright, synth player—Isoshigi Garra."

"Hurrah!" Haku smiled at his roommate, who turned slightly pink and rubbed the back of his head, grinning slightly.

"Everyone else," he waved them down, "I appreciate you showing an interest in the band. We'll keep you all posted with news and upcoming events, I promise." Signifying this as the end of the meeting, the people who had not been selected filed out of the room slowly. Naruto and I were alone on the couch in the middle of a collection of people; it was the weirdest feeling ever. Before I could open my mouth though, he turned to me. "Sasuke, I should have talked that over with you first. Sorry."

I shook my head. "It's fine, I guess. I'm no good at writing music, just lyrics."

"You're not mad?" he looked relieved.

"Nope," I shook my head.

"You're the best, Sasuke," he beamed and I looked away to hide the color rising on my cheeks.

"Look at you two—can't leave you alone for two seconds without you guys making faces at each other," came the playfully jeering voice of the new drummer.

"You're an ass, Kiba," Shikamaru said in a tired voice.

"They know I'm only poking fun," he shrugged. "Right?"

"Moving off the topic that makes Kiba feel better about himself," I rolled my eyes, hiding the grin I was wearing with my hand. "I've got news already."

"About?" Sakura blinked. I pulled the pamphlet from the back of my notebook and handed it to her. She read it aloud: "_'Two Thousand and Six Annual Battle of the Bands' Monday January sixteenth to Friday February tenth at your local college campus—contact for details.'_ A…concert?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "And we're already entered."

"WHAT!" everyone screamed and I made a face at the abrupt loud noise.

"How could you enter us in something as big as this?" Sakura wailed. "We haven't even _played _together!"

"Are you nuts?" Kiba howled. "It'll take a miracle to be good enough to even put up a decent show by January!"

"We go the second week of Febuary—we're one of the last participants," I offered, knowing that wouldn't really help. Then I turned to Naruto and grinned outright. "Naruto, I should have talked that over with you first. Sorry."

He blinked. And blinked again. Then burst out laughing.

"Alright, Uchiha-bastard!" he laughed harder, clapping me on the back. "February, Battle of the Bands it is!"

Again: "WHAT!" He and I winced together.

"Why not?" he stood, crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't think you're good enough to pull it off?" At this, they quieted and looked at each other in shock. And finally, someone said something.

"If you registered," Ino lifted an eyebrow, "then you've already picked a name. What is it?" I stood as well and put my hands in my pockets, tucking my notebook into the crook of my arm.

"Sharingan," I answered her, and Naruto chuckled and I glanced back at him.

He winked: "You've got taste, Uchiha."

"I like it very much!" Haku gushed.

"Not bad," Garra agreed with a slight incline of his head.

"Hey…" Shino suddenly broke into the discussion. "Where's Hinata?"

We quieted and glanced around the room, which was empty save for us: myself, Naruto, Sakura, Garra, Kiba, Shikamaru, Shino, Haku, and Ino. _Huh?_

"Where's Neji?" I looked around the others for the pale, recluse man.

"They must have gone to the dining hall or something," Naruto shrugged.

"Are you kidding?" Shikamaru snorted. "Neji lives in an apartment off campus. There's no way a stuck-up bastard like that would stoop to eating school food with us poor people."

"Then, where are they?" Sakura asked, a hint of worry in her voice. The door to the lounge burst open and someone tumbled in, falling to their knees.

"Hinata!" Kiba yelped and ran over to her—we all did. She looked up at the sound of his voice, her pale eyes wide and overflowing with tears.

"Kiba! It's… It's…!" She grabbed onto his shoulders and I saw the blood painting the front of her gray windbreaker.

"What—!" Kiba started, his eyes catching the red smear on her front.

She shook her head. "Kiba, it's Akamaru! He's not answering me!"

Kiba's eyes widened and he lifted Hinata from the ground, passing her gently to Shino. "Take her!" he pleaded and bounded out of the room. "Akamaru?" we could hear his panicked voice echoing in the breezeway. "Akamaru!" I don't know what possessed me at that moment, but I grabbed Naruto by the elbow and dragged him out after Kiba. He followed wordlessly and we followed the sound of his howls through the main building and out into the courtyard. I saw him darting out of the main gates and I ran after him, Naruto keeping up beside me. We emptied out onto the sidewalk which ran parallel to the busy road that lead to the downtown area, and I saw Kiba kneeling by the crosswalk, an unexplainable expression on his face. "Akamaru…?" he whimpered and I stepped closer so that I could see over his shoulder. A bad move—I winced and turned away. Naruto crouched down beside his band member and looked at the scene with a difficult look on his usually happy features. "Akamaru…!" Kiba choked on a knot in his throat, tears rising in his yellow eyes. They slitted against the unwelcome wave of emotion and Kiba scooped the dog's body off the cold concrete, hugging him close. "No… No! Akamaru! AKAMARU!"

The howl echoed in the early night air and sent a huge chill slamming down my spine. I tore my eyes away from the scene before me and spotted the other missing person—Neji was standing in the shadows of the building across the street, his arms crossed and watching the other man wail over his lost companion. My eyes narrowed and I suddenly thought that somehow, this was all his fault. He had planned this. Why else would he be standing in the shadows just watching? He must have seen his cousin in distress over her pet's "unfortunate accident". And I finally made up my mind: I did _not_ like Neji. At all.

Naruto gently tried to help Kiba to his feet but the other pulled away with a loud sniff and stumbled to his feet on his own. He looked from the blond back to me, and once more at Naruto. Without a word, he carried the dog's body back inside the school. I lifted an eyebrow but Naruto just shook his head and followed him. He dragged his feet all the way back to the breezeway, where by now, the others had gathered outside. Hinata perked up at his footsteps and ran up to Kiba, hesitating in front of him. Shifting the weight of the body into one arm, he took one of her shaking hands and pulled her out onto the West Lawn—a long, rolling field of grass that stretched from the main building to the opposite end of the sidewalk. They walked nearly to the end and stopped under an overgrown tree with low-hanging branches, kneeling together. We watched silently from the breezeway.

"That's where we first met," Shikamaru said, all traces of laziness in his voice gone. "Akamaru stole my shoe; if it was anything else, I wouldn't have bothered following him."

"And I wouldn't have gone either, but I liked laughing at him," Shino mumbled. The silence resumed; beside me, Naruto was trembling. I glanced at him and couldn't see his face, so I brushed the back of my hand against his. Without lifting his gaze, the blond took my hand and squeezed it hard. I could feel his entire hand shaking, from fingers to wrist as we watched Kiba digging heatedly in the dirt by the tree's roots and Hinata clutching the body of her companion in her arms. I felt a tap on my opposite shoulder and I looked to my left. Haku looked at me gravely, his _koto _gripped firmly in one hand, my black _shakuhachi_ case in the other. I squeezed Naruto's hand and he looked up finally, and I saw he had been crying. I released my grip on his hand and took the case from Haku, opening it and eyeing the slender bamboo flute with slight apprehension as my roommate addressed Naruto softly.

"I had to enter your room. I'm sorry," he bowed his head. Naruto shook his and I looked into his eyes briefly. He looked back, and they sung to me. I read the song, I heard it, and I memorized it in an instant—I knew it by heart, anyway. It was the same look that I wore after my parents had passed away. I glanced at Haku and started forward and he followed. The other's eyes fell on us and I felt the nape of my neck tingling as Naruto's blue orbs stayed on me. We paused halfway between the group and the spot where Kiba was now holding Hinata as she cried softly. Haku sat down on the damp grass and folded his legs neatly beneath him, settling the polished oak board in his lap and placing his delicate-looking fingers on the silvery strings. I brought the hollow flute up to my lips and closed my eyes, remembering that look I had seen on Naruto's face, remembering when I once wore that same look.

The song came out of the bamboo-carved _shakuhachi_. It sliced cleanly through the air and I envisioned it wrapping around my new friends, soothing them in folds of sound. Beside me, the gentle, resonate plucking of the _koto_ sounded beneath my melody, speaking of sadness and sorrow and pain. For a fleeting moment, the pain of all the memories came back to me and my _shakuhachi_ wailed what our voices could and would not. The _koto_ still hummed, gently rocking the mourners out of their shock and fear, helping my own music along. And as if to complete the melody of the afterlife, Kiba threw back his head and howled with every ounce of his agony behind the cry. I heard Hinata sobbing into his coat. I heard Sakura and Ino sniffling gently. I heard Naruto's heart shattering for his friend's loss.


	6. Naruto's Song

**_Part 1: Chapter 6_**

I lay the _shakuhachi_ in its case and closed it with a soft _click_. Leaving it on his desk, I turned to the man lying on his side, curling into the mattress as if he wanted to disappear, facing the wall as he silently cried. A quick debate in my mind told me I should stay, so I sat on the edge of the bed and lay a hand on his quivering arm. He instantly turned to me and wrapped his arms tight around my waist, squeezing hard. He buried his face into my hip and gave a shuddering half-sob, half-sigh.

"Why does everyone have to die?" he murmured. I figured it was a rhetorical question, so I stayed silent and merely stroked the blond hair back as he cried against me. "Why is there pain? Why is there envy and hate?_ Why did someone so innocent have to die_?" I shushed him gently, my hand still moving through his sweaty locks and along the curve of his face, trying my best to soothe him. "It's not fair," he moaned.

"Go to sleep, Naruto," I whispered to him, my fingers never stopping their caress.

"I don't _want_ to sleep!" he cried, throwing his head back to look me in the eyes. He steals my breath with that look of such pain and sorrow and _emptiness_. "I want Akamaru to be okay! I want Hinata to smile! I want Kiba to make fun of me!" Under other circumstances I would have laughed at his words, but now was definitely not the time. I merely shushed him again and shifted, lying him back on the bed. He instantly clasped my hand and stared at me with wide, scared eyes. "Don't leave me, Sasuke," his voice trembled just above a whisper. "Please don't leave me alone. I-I'll go crazy…"

I shook my head, leaning down and laying my forehead against his. _What. The hell. Am I doing? _"I'll never leave you, Naruto." And through his misery, he smiled at me. The real smile. My heart thumped audibly, "Go to sleep now."

"I can't…" he whimpered, his face drawing into a frown. "I… I'll…have a nightmare."

"A nightmare?" I asked softly.

"Every time I see someone or something die, no matter how close or how insignificant, I have the same horrible nightmare—a huge, fire demon with nine burning tails destroying everything… Everything," he looked up into my eyes and I shivered. "I don't want to keep seeing the Kyuubi. I don't…"

_Kyuubi? Demon Fox? _"I promise, you won't see Kyuubi tonight," I said as if I were talking to a small child. Which Naruto was acting like, and it was unsettling to see. "I'll stay right here all night."

"All night?" he sniffled.

"All night," I confirmed with a nod. "You wouldn't believe how good my attendance record is. I'm sure one day out of two years won't bring my entire GPA down." At this he gave a very weak grin and I returned it ever-so slightly. _There we are. Closer and closer. Stay with me, Naruto._ "Now sleep." He looked at me uncertainly. "Naruto, I _swear_ that you will not see Kyuubi tonight."

"…how do you know?" he licked his lips nervously, as if just hearing the name would cause the nightmare to commence.

I sighed softly and pushed him gently against the pillows. "Just trust me. Sleep." He looked me over with his tear-filled, red-rimmed eyes before turning slightly onto his side and closing them hesitantly. I began to run my hand through his hair once more, looking at the way the moonlight caressed his face. And before I knew what I was doing, my lips parted, my hand stopped, and my mind recalled the new words scrawled on the fresh page in my notebook. "_Your eyes_... _That's what I think Heaven looks like. Pure, endless… Untouched blue._" He was tossing slightly, his hands coming together and tucking themselves beneath his chin. "_Every time I look, I fall deeper; I take one step closer..._" My eyes were closing of their own accord. I didn't want to sleep yet, though—I wanted to keep watching him. "_It's a long road to Heaven from Hell. There's an Angel guiding me…with eyes the blue of Heaven…hair the gold of Paradise…and a smile, white as the clouds..._" I was lying down beside him. His warmth poured off of his body in waves and I nearly purred in pleasure. "_The Angel's hand is extended to me…I'm afraid to take it, In fear that it will burn…Or I might make the Angel fall._" I wrote this for him. I've never written anything for anyone else before, ever. But… "_His eyes assure me… Those pure, endless blue orbs… Like crystals, sparkling; Full of beauty and mirth._" If I woke up beside him in the morning, would he think I was weird? "_I beg the Angel to take me to Heaven…_" And I decide that I don't care, as he shifts on the bed and turns to me, his forehead pressing gently against my chest. "_I want to go there with him; I want to be with him… I don't care if I don't belong in Heaven… As long as I'm with my Angel._" I promised him I would stay up all night. I have to keep my word, especially to him. "_My Angel… The smile brightens; The golden hair… Like a Halo… And as I whisper one more time…_" Without thinking, my lips brush his forehead;his skin is unimaginably soft. "_'My Angel'…_" I inhale his scent; it's maddening. And I realize something with a sinking feeling in my stomach as I sing the last line of what I've called 'Naruto's Song'. "_The Gates of Heaven open to me._" I'm truly, madly, deeply in love with Uzumaki Naruto.

And a small voice suddenly stops my heart and slams it into my throat but at the same time makes me shiver in pleasure all over again.

"You're our singer, hands down," Naruto speaks and I can hear the light smile flittering on his lips.

"If I'd have known you'd still be coherent by the end of it, I wouldn't have started," I mumbled against his hair, which is silky and glitters as it shifts with my breath, which is still not normal.

"I stayed up just to hear it all," the smile has asserted itself on his face.

"What do you think?"

"I think you like my eyes."

"What else do you think?"

"I think you think I'm cute."

"…what _else_ do you think?"

"I think I'm falling in love with you, Uchiha Sasuke."

"That's the answer I wanted to hear."

Neither of us are talking anymore. His lips have suddenly found mine; I'm not breathing again. As a matter of fact, I think I've just died. How interesting would that be? To write lyrics as a dead person? Wait, why am I thinking about this? Isn't Naruto _kissing_ me? _Yes, yes he is, _I confirm as I wrap my arms around his shoulders and reposition myself atop him. His hands grip my shoulders lightly as his warm tongue darts past my lips and knocks me for another loop. (He is a _great_ kisser… And, truth be told, that's a huge turn-on.) I kiss back; my tongue slips against his and strokes the line of his mouth gently. I hear him moan, _feel_ him moan into me and I shiver harder than ever. His hands come up to my neck, tracing the taunt line of muscle beneath the flesh gently, making the small hairs on my arms stand on end. _Oh my god…_ His fingers rush through my hair and for the moment, I really don't care if it's a mess, just as long as he keeps _doing that. _My mouth pushes harder against his, craving his taste even more. I want to _become_ him, I want him to linger within every part of myself long after this night is over. I didn't care about the past or tomorrow, all I had on my mind right nowwas Naruto.

On my body as well. How he had urged me out of my shirt without breaking our kiss, I'd ask him another day. His fingers stroked up along my sides and my hips thrust downward as a reaction. _That was not planned! _He pulls his lips from mine to gasp but I want them back and I seize them again with my own, my tongue overpowering his and my arms coming to rest on either side of his head, trapping him beneath me. His hands slip to my lower back and he runs his fingers up my spine. He purrs in his throat. The vibrations hit my mouth. I tear my lips away from his and throw back my head with a loud moan. I'm shifting; he's leaning forward and pressing his lips to my abdomen, dragging his mouth up along the muscles to my chest and I. Stop. _Moving._ I stop breathing again. I'm shaking so hard I can't regain my composure long enough to push him away, to pin him back down. The flat of his tongue runs up against my nipple. _That's IT!_

He's back down on the bed. Somewhere in this mess, his shirt has come off as well. I link my fingers in his and hold his hands down against the mattress. I'm panting and so is he, but he's looking nowhere near ready to stop. To speak honestly, neither am I, but…

"Naruto…" I swallow hard. "Are you sure?"

"I'll never want anything as much ever again," he lifts an eyebrow up at me.

"Not even me again?" I fake-pout.

He opens his mouth to respond, then face-faults and gives me a bemused look. "You _know_ what I mean, Uchiha!"

"I know," I grin back. "So, is it official? Are you crazy about me?"

He grins too and flashes me the middle finger. "Is this called flipping you off?"

"Is that a no?" I ask innocently and he growls, trying to wrestle out from beneath me.

"You're not cute!" he sticks out his tongue. I lean down and lick at it slowly, then pull back as he lifts his head to start a kiss.

"I am _so_ cute," I stick my tongue out as well and begin to laugh.

"Argh!" he rolls his eyes and laughs too.

* * *

"Where were you today, Naruto?" Sakura puts her tray down and sits across from the blond, who blushes and slurps his melted ice cream rather loudly.

"Erm, with Sasuke," he looks at me with pleading eyes and I hide the huge smirk behind my glass of root beer.

"So then, where were the _both_ of you?" Ino joins the table, followed by Shino, Shikamaru, and Haku.

"You didn't come back—" Haku starts to speak but I know Naruto kicked him in the shin because he winced and sat down abruptly beside the blond, pressing his lips together. That and he told me about it later.

"We were working on some new lyrics," I forked up some spaghetti and shoved it into my mouth, chewing calmly. They all watched me as I swallowed and spun some more onto my fork. "And we were trying to plan our first band rehearsal, but with Akamaru…" I could stop at that point, and the awkwardness of a moment ago was forgotten. I have that affect on people for some odd reason. With a clatter of dishes and silverware, Kiba literally dropped into a free chair and let his head fall to the table with a loud _ka-THUMP!_ I winced, but Naruto and I were the only ones. Everyone else gave him a sympathetic look.

"What's up, Kiba?" Naruto touched the top of the fur-lined hood.

"Rar-ar rar rar rargh," he mumbled into the tablecloth. Naruto and I turned to the others for assistance.

"Neji got special permission from the dean," Shikamaru explained, " and now he can leave his classes early to take Hinata to her own before the rush starts."

"Without Akamaru, they had to accommodate somehow," Sakura frowned, whispering. I wanted to tell her that whispering didn't matter and Kiba heard every word they were saying, but I spotted Garra walking in and leading Hinata by the arm.

"Hey Kiba," I ate some more spaghetti. "Naruto's doing the chicken dance naked in the middle of the cafeteria and I have a camera here for you to take blackmail pictures." Everyone at the table looked at me (except the one I was addressing). "Oh, and Hinata just walked in."

"Hinata!" he leapt out of his chair and turned toward the front. I snorted into my glass and Naruto threw a balled-up napkin at me as the others at the table cracked up.

"I'd never do that!" he cried, the stuck out his tongue at me. "For free," he added and I winked at him. Then we all craned our necks to watch Kiba rush up to the blind woman and embrace her tightly. She blushed and hugged him back, speaking a couple of words. He shook his head, looking grim, and did not let her go. She smiled gently and ran a hand lightly under his hood, pushing it back to stroke the spiky black hair it always hid.

"Aww!" Sakura squeaked, her food all but forgotten. Shikamaru was eyeing it half-heartedly because he had been too lazy to go and wait in line for dinner.

"Are they going out?" Ino wondered aloud.

"Not yet," I shook my head.

"Oh, look at them; it's _bound _to happen soon," Naruto grinned.

They watched Kiba release Hinata and turn to Garra. The red-head looked up into his band mate's face quietly. The taller raised a hand. They shook, breaking out into smiles—Kiba's a toothy grin and Garra's a slight curve of his lips. Then the three of them headed back to the table.

"I love love," Haku beamed at them, waving.

"You're so weird," I rolled my eyes.

"Hey Hinata," Shino waved and Shikamaru nodded at her.

"Glad you didn't forget who your real friends are," he said to her. She blushed and took a seat between Garra and Kiba, placing a hand on the latter's arm.

"Never. Sharingan forever," she giggled.

"Here, here!" Naruto lifted his ice cream bowl. We laughed and raised our glasses. "First rehearsal, this Saturday!" _Clink!_


	7. Haku and Garra

**Notes: **OOPS! Thanks for pointing out my mistake, akai! Shino should _not _be waving at Hinata, nor should Shikamaru nod at her. Very good eye, very good. And soooooooo, my bad! Sorry for the slip up, really! As for everything else, I'm sorry if you don't like certain things I do (like killing Akamaru; you can't believe how much I hate myself for that) and if it seems I'm not responding to certain requests, it's nothing against you; it just doesn't fit into the story. So, right then. Onward!

* * *

_**Part 1: Chapter 7**_

Somehow, it just feels right when Ino, Haku, Shino, and Shikamaru all turn up for the practice even though they're not in the band. They belong there; they are part of Sharingan. I know Naruto feels the same because when they each wander in with the real band members, he greets them with equal enthusiasm. That's just one of the things I love about him.

"Okay, first practice is mainly about getting you guys familiar with playing together and a look at our singer's lyrics," the blond glances over at me and I nod back. "Let's have a look at the songs first, so you all can be on the same page when it comes time to break out the instruments." I lay out the blue-covered notebook on the short table that everyone's sitting around. They either lean forward or scoot closer to read the first song, which apparently is going to be our first single.

"Hey," Kiba perks up. "This is the one you had me audition with."

I nod. "Your beat was pretty much the way I heard it in my head."

"What does it say?" Hinata asked and I blushed—I hated reading my songs out loud because then it sounded like poetry; it just didn't come out right.

I pushed the notebook in Kiba's direction: "You read it to her." He took it off the table and gave me an odd glance but then began reciting the lines on the paper to his blind companion. She listened to his voice intently. The others turned from them to look at me.

"That was really well-written, Sasuke," Ino said, sounding slightly impressed.

"Thanks," I gave her a half-grin.

"Have you written a melody for it yet?" Garra asked me. I shook my head.

"That's why I asked for someone who composes music back on the last day of tryouts," Naruto made a face. "No one responded."

"No one?" Haku lifted an eyebrow. "That's quite odd…"

"Yeah, I was hoping we'd find someone at school, that way we could all participate in the writing," Naruto continued his explanation. "I think that Sasuke writing the lyrics by himself is all well and good, but the music has to come from all the band members, and has to reflect them. As much as people say they like the lyrics of any song, it's the music that always ends up stuck in their heads." I know he was speaking honestly, so I didn't flinch when he put music over lyrics. Besides, in several ways, he was right: lyrics were just poetry without the beat.

"That's a very good idea," Haku looked like he was thinking, so I prompted him.

"Do you know someone at this school capable of writing music?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Well it _is _a liberal arts college."

"Really? You know someone?" Naruto got excited. "Well, get them! Bring them here!"

"I am here," he smiled softly. There was a pause.

"You never told me you write music," my eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You never asked," he said sweetly. "Besides, Garra knows, don't you?" Garra nodded his head, his fire-red hair spilling over the almond-shaped ice-colored eyes. The eyeliner he wore to accent the odd color clashed with his sand-colored complexion, making him look more like he had two black eyes, or rather, like a mean raccoon. And that kanji over his eyebrow…what did it mean? I realized I knew nothing about Garra besides his name. And as for Haku, he was surprising me more and more with each passing day. Had I not been his roommate in a non-co-ed dormitory, I would have assumed the pretty-faced, gentle Haku to be a girl. I wasn't trying to be rude, or a bad roommate, but I knew absolutely nothing about the both of them. And suddenly that bothered me like it never had before. Now that they were part of my world, my band, they became important to me. I decided that, starting now, I would try to find out more about them. Had I known they would have confessed their pasts to me within the next few hours, I wouldn't have missed half the practice with my thinking.

"Sasuke?" Naruto's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "Hinata was complimenting you."

"Oh…" I blinked stupidly and sat up straight, looking at her. Kiba was handing me my notebook and giving me a questioning look. I took it back. "Sorry, I was…thinking." Which wasn't a lie at all.

"I said, your lyrics are beautiful, Sasuke," she smiled at me and I blushed. "All of them are."

"All of them…?" I suddenly tensed. They had gone through my entire notebook while I was somewhere else? Then that means…they read… I looked at Naruto helplessly. He winked at me and pointed down. A single notebook paper poked out from beneath his thigh and I breathed a sigh, laying my forehead against his shoulder.

"Sasuke, are you sure you're okay?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Just tired," I mumbled against Naruto's arm and he patted my head gently.

"Yeah, I kept him busy all night last night," I heard the grin stretch across his face and I blushed against the smooth orange fabric of his jacket. The others were incredibly silent. Finally, Naruto laughed. "Hello? I'm talking about band preparations here! Wow, you guys haveto get your minds out of the _gutter_!" Scattered laughter. I winced—this new relationship was _not_ going to be a secret for much longer. It's not like I was trying to hide it or anything, but… I looked at Ino and Sakura, who were holding hands. _Is it really that easy?

* * *

_

Garra opened the door and I heard him setting down his synthesizer by the closets. Naruto walked in just ahead of me, and I heard the familiar squeak of a body on my cot and I joined him. Haku came in last, shutting the door behind him.

Naruto handed me the torn-out lyrics. "Here you go. Kiba was getting ahead of himself, and everyone really wanted to hear the others, so I took the notebook and tore the page out while everyone was discussing them."

"Thanks," I breathed, folding up the paper and tucking it in the back of the book.

"Another song?" Haku asked and I nodded absentmindedly. It wasn't until I realized I wasn't holding my notebook that I snapped out of it and saw Haku with it tucked under one arm, the unread lyrics unfolded before his eyes. "Don't—" But I already figured it was too late. His eyebrows were raised in intrigue and his lips were moving along with his eyes. After a pause, he handed them to Garra, who glanced at them, chuckled to himself, and went about getting ready for bed. I felt my face go red.

"These are the lyrics you wrote that night…" Haku spoke up finally, looking at me. I nodded. "Are you two going out?" Naruto looked from me to Haku and back to me, unsure of what to say. I nodded at him and he blushed slightly, but nodded back.

"Yeah," I said weakly, "we are."

"Oh! Well then, good for you!" he smiled and I looked at him.

"You don't think that's…weird?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, no, why would I?" the black-haired man handed me my notebook and the paper.

"I don't know," I put it away again. "Some people wouldn't find this…normal."

"No one person can define normal," Garra spoke up from the bathroom, coming out and turning off the light. "Normal is what you think it is. It changes, depending on your outlook. But you and Naruto going out," he gestured, "I'd say that's normal. I mean, isn't that what people do when they're in love?"

"Well, yeah," I blinked at my other roommate. _What the hell…?_ "But you have to agree, it is out of the norm, two guys dating."

"No, it isn't," Haku laughed, sitting on Garra's bunk. "You just think it is because you never see it."

"I admit, I thought it was a little weird too," Naruto blushed, looking down at his hands.

"You never said anything," I looked at him.

"Because it felt right," he met my stare. "And something that _feels_ right is never wrong, no matter what anyone says." I felt my face burning again. He had a point. It _did_ feel right.

"Very good," Haku beamed at us. Then he looked over at Garra: "So, is it our turn?" The red-head shrugged.

"It's not a secret or anything," he said and I looked back and forth between the two of them.

"What?" Naruto asked the question that was running through my head.

"Haku and I are dating," came Garra's simple answer. I blinked—_Somehow, I am _not_ surprised._

"We met before college," Haku waved a hand idly. "Back when we were about fifteen or sixteen, if I recall correctly."

"I was in a gang," Garra sat beside him, folding the clothes he had been wearing earlier. "That's where the kanji came from. Means 'love'," he added, placing the folded clothes on his computer chair.

"A kanji meaning 'love' in a gang?" Naruto sounded confused.

"We were called the Jinchuuriki," he shrugged. "Everyone had one of the emotion kanji tattooed somewhere on their body, and it was the emotion they lacked while in battle."

"For someone who lacked love however," Haku smiled fondly at him, "he saved my life."

"It was a hit job," Garra filled us in. "I was supposed to take out a supplier of our rival gang, the Anbu. I walked in on him beating the life out of his plaything. He was preoccupied, so I took the opportunity."

"He killed my former master, Momochi Zabuza," Haku clarified. "After that, I was indebted to him."

"He followed me around like a shadow," Garra put in.

"Well, you did kill my only means of survival," the other man smiled sweetly at him. I glanced at Naruto, who glanced back and shrugged. They were talking about their blood-stained pasts as if it were the weather. _Who knew?_ "Anyway, after a few months, I convinced Garra to leave the Jinchuuriki and come with me," he continued. "After some community college classes, we took our entrance exams together. And wound up here."

"The gang let you leave that easily?" Naruto had to ask.

"What gang?" Garra said flatly.

"And, no offense," I raised an eyebrow, "but, why are you not in jail?"

"Haku made us new identities," the red-head turned to his lover and smiled in admiration—a new look for him. "Gave us new names, new information, relocated us; he did everything."

"But I decided, in the end, to focus my computer skills on something other than criminalistic activity," Haku blushed, giving the other man a loving smile in return. "Do you think they'd appreciate my composing skills after what they just heard?"

"I don't even have to hear it," Naruto looked at me for confirmation and I nodded in approval. "You're in."

"Thank you very much," he smiled and took Garra's hand.

* * *

"Wow," Naruto fumbled for his keys. "Haku and Garra are awesome!" I had to agree with him.

"I never knew that about them…" _I never bothered to ask…_

"So…" he got the door unlocked and paused. "About us…"

"Don't worry," I felt myself smiling. I leaned over and kissed his lips softly. When I pulled back, he looked as happy and dizzy as I felt.

"I'll take that as a 'see you tomorrow'," he grinned like a ditz. I leaned forward again, pressing my lips to his once more. He moaned softly against me and I pulled away before the kiss escalated.

"That was 'goodnight'," I winked.

"Do I get a 'sweet dreams' one as well?" he pouted. I nudged him inside his room and laughed softly.

"No, but you'll get a really long 'good morning' one to make up for it," I promised.

"See you bright and early tomorrow morning then," he grinned, closing the door. I stood in front of it for a little while longer, my hands in my pockets, smiling to myself. I imagined he was on the other side of the door, leaning against it, smiling as well. We were both relieved, our minds were at ease, and everything was going to be so much easier now.

Ha.


	8. For You

**_Part 1: Chapter 8_**

Breakfast was normal enough—eggs, bacon, sausage, miso soup (we have weird cooks; besides, Sunday is leftover day). Sakura and Ino joined us briefly, and they let us know that they were going to be gone the whole day visiting Sakura's parents. Naruto told her that she'd better take her guitar along and practice if she was planning on missing rehearsal. I asked her to tell us about stuff like this in advance next time. She informed the blond that he could perform acts of a sexual nature upon himself that were physically impossible under normal circumstances. And then she apologized to me and said she would do so the next time. They left shortly afterward; Naruto wanted seconds.

When he had his fill we left the cafeteria and went down toward the breezeway. On the way out, I saw two dark-haired people leaving the campus via the front entrance. It was nothing out of the usual—I thought I knew them. Shrugging, I followed Naruto down the steps and across the breezeway to the mailroom. He looked over to his left, toward the West Lawn and abruptly came to a halt mid-stride.

"Hey, isn't that Kiba?" he pointed. I stopped and looked over his shoulder at the hunched figure with the hood and their hands jammed into the jacket's pockets.

"Yeah," I tilted my head but I still couldn't see his face.

"I'm gonna remind him about practice tonight," he started over. I waited for him by the entrance to the mailroom, watching him approach with a yelled greeting. There was no response. I saw Naruto say a few things, but the other man didn't so much as twitch in acknowledgement. Finally, the blond shrugged and said one final thing in parting and turned to go. Faster than anything I've ever seen, Kiba whirled and brought his fist up.

_WHAM!_

Naruto hit the floor. "OW! You sonoffabitch!" He grabbed his face. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"What did you say to him, Naruto?" I called over as I stepped forward to intercept the tall man.

"I just told him about the rehearsal!" he wailed, scrambling to his feet. Kiba closed in on me, his abnormal yellow eyes flashing dangerously. I held my ground and matched his stance—I slipped my hands into my pockets and frowned, leaning forward. He stopped in front of me and breathed heavily through his nose, his teeth flashing in the shadows of his hood.

"Get out of my way, Uchiha," he snarled.

"What is your problem?" I snapped at him. "That was uncalled for!"

"Yeah, for real!" Naruto came up to us, rubbing his cheek. "What the hell, man?"

He tried to sidestep around me and I quickly cut him off again. "Get out of my way," he repeated.

"This is about Hinata, isn't it?" I guessed. The fist came at me from out of nowhere. Lucky for me, I was faster than Naruto; I caught his hand in mine and forced it back. His left eye twitched noticeably. "Decking everyone who mentions her name is _not_ going to make this go away."

"…It's a start," he laughed bitterly and his entire body suddenly gave out. He fell to his hands and knees between us and lowered his head, shaking visibly. "Neji was right… She…she passed right by me! And she didn't say a word… I thought… I thought she…"

"Kiba," I loosened and knelt beside him, placing an uncertain hand on his shoulder. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"Is _he_ alright?" Naruto gaped. "_He _knocks _me _to the floor and you ask if _he's_ alright?"

"Naruto…" I sigh.

"No, I'm sorry," Kiba shook his head weakly. "I just…"

"Uh, no offense to cut you off man," the blond glanced around, "but we're making a scene."

"Come to my room," I said and stood. Kiba rose by himself, swiping an arm across his eyes harshly.

"Are Haku and Garra there?" he spoke thickly. "I want everyone to hear this."

"Yeah," I turned to Naruto. "Go get Shikamaru and Shino." He gave me a look which plainly stated _'I am not your bitch'_ which I returned with a stare of my own: _'This is not the time to fuck around. Go.'_ He pressed his lips together and restrained himself from complaining outright, turning back around and heading down to the West Lawn. He moves toward the secondary boy's dormitory as I nudge Kiba upstairs to my room.

* * *

"So, what's this drama about Kiba?" Shino walks in first.

"Yeah. And did he really punch the shit out of Naruto?" Shikamaru followed in after him, grinning slightly.

"Shut the hell up," Naruto comes in last, closing the door behind him and making a face. Haku sat up in his bed, closing the text book he had been studying from.

"Have a seat anywhere," he offers politely, gesturing to the large room. Shikamaru instantly plops down in the closest chair, which happens to be mine, and Shino sits quietly next to Garra on his bunk. The red-head puts down his book as well (the same one he was reading last time) and sits up attentively, and Naruto plops down next to me, staring at Kiba. The guy is definitely agitated; he's raking his long fingers through his hair which knocks his hood back, he's pacing the length of the room, and his face is abnormally pale. Now that I see him for once without the fur-lined hood, I notice the two blood-red stripes tattooed there, one on each cheek, running from the cheekbones to his chin. Tattoos. It makes him look wild. But right now, all this kid looks is scared as hell.

"Neji's always been jealous of my relationship with Hinata," he started.

"Tell us something we don't know," Shino pipes up from the bed as he pushes his sunglasses back up along the bridge of his nose. Kiba shot him a glare and Garra whacked him with a pillow.

"The band thing was the final straw," Kiba continued. "When Garra got the synth player position instead of him, he figured it was time to get me out of her life for good." He growled threateningly. "He's always wanted me out—he's picked fights with me our entire lives, always in an attempt to get her mad at me. I understand that a family member would be concerned, but two things always bothered me about it: one, he doesn't care about any one or thing, so why is this any different?; two, he uses her blindness as a lever—he takes advantage of the fact that she's handicapped. I hate him for it, I really do."

"So, he's personally stopping Hinata from being with you?" Naruto gaped as if he couldn't possibly believe someone could be that wicked. A nod was his only response.

"It sounds to me…" Haku spoke up slowly, "that Neji is slightly more than overprotective."

I made a face: "Obsessive is what I'd call it."

"I believe you're right," he continued. "Obsessive because he wants her all to himself."

Kiba froze at those words. Finally, he turned to look at Haku with a dazed expression on his face: "Because he's…"

"In love with her," Haku nodded, finishing. There was an awkward pause. Then…

"Ew, incest," Shino gave a shudder and Shikamaru seconded his exclamation with a nod.

"I always knew he was a crazy ass bastard," he commented dryly.

"That man has some _serious_ issues," Naruto made a disgusted face.

"No doubts there," I sighed and opened up my notebook. "What do we do about him, then?"

"Nothing," Kiba said flatly and we all looked at him. "Hinata isn't a trophy to win or a piece of ass to fight over. She's a human being and I refuse to treat her differently."

"Ignoring the situation isn't going to make it magically go away," Garra spoke up. "Go after her now or lose her forever."

"Forever…" Kiba's face looked so pitiful. "I… I can't. There's nothing I can do…"

Naruto suddenly blinked and turned to me and then looked down at the blank page I had turned to.

"Maybe," he spoke up slowly, "there's something _we _can do."

* * *

_**Dah dah dah da-da da-dah.**_

"Right, better," Naruto turned back to me. "Sasuke, what's the next line?"

"I haven't written it yet, _dobe_," I mumbled, chewing thoughtfully on the end of my pen. He made a face at me and turned back to Haku.

"What have we got so far?" he asked. I heard the mouse clicking, and from the laptop's speakers came the rough beat we managed to scrounge up in one day:

_**Pah-pah, ba-da-da-da-da da-dah.**_

_**Bah dah-da-da-da-da da-dah.**_

_**Ba-dah bada bah da-da-da.**_

_**Tah ta-pah! Tah ta-pah!**_

"Heavy on the drums, good," the blond nodded, picking up his acoustic guitar and slowly picking out the matching notes. "It's Kiba's song, after all." He strummed a little bit, motioned at Haku to play the beat again, listened, then nibbled on his lip nervously. "Do you think this will work?" he finally asked aloud.

"It'd better," I scribbled down another two lines, frowning slightly. "I've never done this before—it's difficult."

"What is?" he looked at me.

"I've always written lyrics for or about myself or my life," I confessed, looking up at him from my notebook. "Even the song I wrote for you had _my _feelings behind it. But this…" I gestured to the notebook. "These aren't my emotions or thoughts. I'm writing from an outsider's point of view, and it's hard."

"Think of it as a new challenge," Naruto grinned at me affectionately and I felt my face turn red. "You're doing it for a friend."

"A friend…" I looked down at the few lines I had on the paper. Then I wrote another. I had to admit, this was a new way to do things. And I kind of enjoyed it. Besides… "Hinata is our friend too, and I want to be able to see her again."

"Definitely," the blond nodded. "Especially at this time, right before Christmas." _That's right._ I looked out at the darkening gray sky. "It would suck if she were alone, or Kiba wouldn't get to say how he feels…"

"How will we do it?" I asked. "There isn't an event or anything coming up until the Battle of the Bands thing."

"We'll just make an event," he winked. I looked at him for a moment longer. _That's…crazy enough to work. _I smiled at him and then returned to my paper.

* * *

"_For You_

_Pen and paper in my hand_

_Thinking up this song for you_

_Haven't seen you for days now_

_I'm not sure what to do._

_Just listening to the radio_

_Singing all the songs that remind me of you_

_And remind me of the things we used to say_

_And all the stuff we swore to do._

_Everyday I look for you_

_For you_

_I want to tell you everything_

_And have you tell me everything too._

_So, I'm always looking for you_

_For you_

_Daydreaming about the times together_

_I had everything when we were together._

_You taught me how to see the night_

_I told you all you had to do was_

_Take my hand_

_And I could show you what the day brings._

_I want to spend forever with you_

_Just holding on and talking to you_

_It seems I ask for everything_

_When all I want is you._

_And everyday I look for you_

_For you_

_I want to tell you everything_

_And have you tell me everything too._

_So, I'm always looking for you_

_For you_

_Daydreaming about the times together_

_I had everything when we were together._

_When I'm not there for you_

_It hurts me like you can't know_

_Because you're always there for me_

_I'll try to be a better friend, so…_

_Tell me the truth without subtlety_

_So I can keep learning more from you_

_To be the friend I can never seem to be_

_The one I want to be for you._

_So everyday I look for you_

_For you_

_I want to tell you everything_

_And have you tell me everything too._

_So, I'm always looking for you_

_For you_

_Daydreaming about the times together_

_I had everything when we were together._

_Everyday I look for you_

_For you_

_So I can tell you every time I see you_

'_I love you' and 'I miss you'_

_And 'I'll always be here for you'_

_For you._

_I'm looking at a star now just for you_

_And hoping through my eyes that you can see it too_

_I make a wish on it for you_

_For you_

_And watch it fade away_

_It's sucked into the brand new day_

_The sun-lit sky is like our lives, you know._

_But I still want to be there just for you_

_And I want to be a better person_

_Just for you_

_And I just want to let you know now_

_That I don't care what other people say_

_Or what they think they know._

_My dearest friend_

_I will always dream_

_Of all the times we had together_

_And remember always_

_Your words of advice_

_And try to be all you need._

_For you." --__Uchiha Sasuke, Nov. 2005_


	9. Inspired Lyrics

**Notes:** Time to answer a few questions.

-Yeah, Neji really is turning into a major bastard, isn't he? Sorry Neji-fans! Never liked him—he creeped me out.

-I am a _major_ Kiba/Hina fan. I think it's one of the cutest pairings I've ever seen. But I don't see enough stories on it, which kind of drove me to fill Part I with a lot of Kiba/Hina angst-love stuffage. Because of this, there has been a slight lack of Naru/Sasu love. Hooray for more chapters! XP (damned fillers!)

-There WILL be a happy ending! No worries! hearts happy endings

-I love surprising you people, but trust me, when I start to write it, I'm usually surprising myself too. I usually can't stop writing because I myself want to know how the story ends, you know? Besides, I know what it is to be waiting _forever_ for someone to update a chapter story. So, yay fast updates!

-Every song/poem in here was indeed written by me. I'm glad you like them! My favorite thus far is "For You" because it's the only one I can sing in my head. The beat sounds like…like a Newfound Glory song; not hardcore, but a good, fast-paced beat that you can jump around and have fun to. And, don't worry. They _will_ be jumping around and having fun. XD

* * *

**Part_ 1: Chapter 9_**

"A what…?" Ino was the first to break the silence at the table.

"A live rehearsal," he repeated, his eyes glinting with a hint of crazy pride. "In the middle of the West Lawn, during class time!"

"You want us to cut class?" Kiba looked impressed.

"Hell yes," Naruto nodded back. "And I want you all to be prepared to face consequences."

"The school shouldn't be too hard on is," Haku spoke up from my left. "We are planning on having it two weeks before final exams."

"Still, they may put us on probation or at the least, give us a good tongue-lashing in the dean's office," the blond pointed out. "So, if anyone has any problems right now about it, you can take your shit and leave the band." His face became less soft as his eyebrows drew together in a frown. "This band is your life. They are your family, and that's how I want you guys to start treating it. Of course I know school is important," he cut off the protests that were starting up. "And if for some reason Sharingan does not hold together, we all need something to fall back on. But it kills me to see Kiba walking around in a daze because he is unable to talk to the girl he loves, as I'm sure it bothers you all. So, it's either this, or we abandon our two friends and eventually fall apart. It all starts here," he added as a final note and stood, picking up his tray and leaving the table. The others watched him go with wide eyes, frozen in their chairs from the lecture they had just received. Sakura was the first to break the silence.

"He's really serious about this band, isn't he?" she turned to me.

"Aren't you?" I lifted an eyebrow. "Or did you think we were going in for the short run? Why do you think I registered us for Battle of the Bands? You knew it was serious, from the day you were officially part of it—you're not doubting that now, are you?"

"I just…" she looked ashamed, "I didn't think this would be my career."

"Then just do what Naruto said," I stood as well, lifting my tray into my hands. "Take your instrument and go. You're talented, but we can find someone more dedicated if this is going to be the case." I left the table; Naruto's mood had rubbed off on me, and now I was going to go and find him. I discarded my tray and put my hands in my pockets, heading for the exit.

"Sasuke!" I stopped and looked back. Sakura was standing, her hands flat on the table as she leaned forward to holler across the dining hall. "What time do we have to be there?" I bit the inside of my lip to stop myself from smiling and lifted two fingers. She nodded. I nodded back, then left to search for my boyfriend.

The sun was already gone—night was coming faster and faster everyday, a sure sign of the approaching winter. I hunched into my jacket and jammed my hands deeper into my pockets, glancing around the breezeway for him. To my right, the parking lot and the exit to the main street; to my left, the West Lawn and a single figure sitting in the middle of the grass. I started over, convinced it was my crazy partner that would be sitting out in the cold away from the light. But as I drew closer I realized the jacket wasn't orange, it was gray. And the hair wasn't spiky blond, it was short, smooth, and blended in with the shadows. And when I stopped walking, standing beside them, I knew exactly what spot of the West Lawn it was.

"I haven't seen you in a while," I sat beside her. Hinata lifted her head to me, her white eyes slicing through the distance and dark and piercing into my own. I felt like she could read my soul with those eyes.

"Sasuke?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah," I wrapped my arms around my knees. "What's up?"

"I thought you weren't talking to me anymore…" she said, her voice sounding hurt.

I blinked. "What? I honestly haven't seen you in nearly two weeks!"

"But… Neji says that you guys just walk by, without saying a word…" she mumbled, turning her face down. I felt my eye twitching—_That bastard!_

"Hinata," I said in a soft voice, "do you think that maybe Neji's saying that to prevent you from talking to us?"

She was silent for a minute. "I…always like to believe that there's some good in everyone."

"I'm sure he does have some good in him." _Somewhere. _"But, I'm speaking honestly when I tell you this: Neji is purposely making you avoid us. Have you talked to Kiba?"

"Not since Akamaru…" she touched the patch of dirt by her feet gingerly, as if checking to make sure it was where she and her best friend had left it.

"Do you know that Neji has always been jealous of Kiba?"

"…yes."

I sat back against the tree and looked up. The sky was blue-black, and only three stars were visible between the lack of moon and overpowering street lamps. Hinata's hand reached out toward me tentatively, and I let her find my arm on her own.

"Help me?" she asked and I rose, lifting her to her feet as well. She clung to me and I led her back to the breezeway, where Naruto was leaning against one of the walls, his arms crossed over his chest.

"They said you left a while ago," he called to me as I entered the well-lit walkway. "I've been waiting here for five minutes!" And then he saw the woman beside me. "Oh my god! HINATA!" She jumped and her hand gripped my arm tighter. Naruto ran forward and scooped her into his arms for a hug, lifting her feet off the ground. She laughed abruptly, and the sound was almost like small bells in the winter-chilled air. "How are you? Where the hell have you been? I'm sorry, but your cousin's an ass!" he rattled on, setting her down. "You've missed like, five rehearsals!"

"I have…?" she tilted her head to one side. "I mean, I… Neji never said any…and it's not like I can find you all…"

"How did you get way out here, then?" he blinked.

"I…" she blinked too. "I just…walked out here."

"By yourself?" Naruto yelped. "Don't you know how dangerous that is? The girl's dorms are across the street and down a block, aren't they?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"And you did that all by yourself?" I pressed.

She nodded again, this time with a little hesitation. "Yes, I did." And the rest of the walk was in silence. We parted at the entrance to the inner halls of the girl's dorm building and called goodbye as a security guard led her to her room. I was smiling to myself as we walked out of the heated building and into the cold night again.

"Was everyone mad at me?" Naruto asked, and I heard the worry in his voice. Gently, I reached for his hand and squeezed it reassuringly, slowing our walk back to the main building slightly.

"No, they weren't," I told him. "In fact, they even asked what time we had in mind."

"You said two?" he glanced at me and I nodded. He fell into silence as we rounded the corner and began walking back up the block. Halfway to the main street, he spoke up again: "Sasuke… It's almost Christmas break."

"You're right," I counted the days left—four weeks of classes, then finals week (which was actually just four days): eighteen. "What are your plans?"

"I…" his cheeks reddened, and I know it wasn't because of the cold. I lifted his un-gloved hand to my face and kissed the knuckles softly, then let it rest against my neck. His skin was like ice but I didn't flinch.

"Naruto, you're alone for Christmas, just like me, right?" I smiled in the dark. I know he saw it, or at least heard it in my voice.

"Mm-hmm," his fingers brushed against the line of my neck and I closed my eyes slightly. "Are you going home?"

"…this is my home," I admitted, looking up at the school building across the street. "This is where my family is."

"Sharingan is your family too, huh?" he chuckled. "That's really why I take this so seriously. They're my brothers and sisters."

"And what am I?" I inquired with a grin.

"Sexy," he said without missing a beat and I nudged him with my shoulder. "My partner," he answered after a quiet laugh. "In every aspect of my life."

"Would you like to come home with me?" I spoke as we walked through the main gates. His grip on my hand instantly tightened at my words.

"Can I…?" he asked breathlessly.

I nodded. "As long as you promise me something."

"What?" he lifted an eyebrow.

"You won't drink—I can't stand drinking," I admitted. I felt his eyes on me and I knew he was recalling my own words: _"A car crash. They were coming home from an office party… Someone from another party swerved into their lane and forced them off the road…" _I shuddered. He pulled our hands away from my neck and held them up between us, clutching tightly.

"I promise."

* * *

I'm awake. _Why?_ Beside me, Naruto breathes softly as he sleeps on, heedless to the fact that I have suddenly and for no apparent reason, woken up. I sit up slightly and the covers slip off my shoulders. I instantly regret it: _Shit, it's cold!_ But despite that I find myself climbing out of his small bed, trying my hardest not to disturb him. And I shuffle over the two piles of clothes on the floor, searching. I find the red and white paper fan staring up at me from beneath his orange jacket. I smile and lean down to pick up the notebook. It falls open to the last song I wrote—"For You". I like the way it sounds and I love the way it came out. And at the live rehearsal two weeks from now, I had no doubt it was going to sound any less than amazing. I flipped to the next page. Blank. And now I know why I was awake. I sit at his desk, switching on the lamp andfind a pen among the papers and books. It's not even a song that comes out but tangents and blurbs that I suddenly think will turn into songs one day when I'm inspired by him. I'm always inspired by him; I've found my new reason to write lyrics.

* * *

In a single instant,  
The fire consumes me,  
Burning me to the core.

Like a wildfire  
It's out of control;  
I don't want to control it.  
I let the flames take me.

Over and over, like a phoenix,  
I am reborn from the ashes  
Each time the fire tears me apart.

* * *

Holding me still at the point between  
Zero and infinity  
Where both extremes are nothing.

* * *

I can't heal the scars of my past  
And you can't escape yours.

* * *

Your blue eyes stand out strikingly  
From the sunset glow of your face  
Your aura speaks in fierce silence  
Of fire and anger and pain  
But the cool, sweet blue of your gaze  
Contradicts your raging emotions

* * *

A passage of time  
That keeps on repeating  
Waltzing in circles  
Of cobalt infinity  
An endless song  
One theme resounding  
Through the night  
And into our hearts

* * *

I'm no angel  
But you take me to heaven  
In ways I've never known.  
Hold me in your arms  
Take me far away and  
Let me die beside you.  
As different as night and day;  
You're the yin to my yang.  
Turning to each other,  
We've got nowhere left to go. 


	10. The First Concert

**_Part 1: Chapter 10_**

Haku rushed in, his hair looking wind-swept, some of the strands coming loose from the tie he wore. "Here! I have them!" he waved a stack of papers above his head and began passing them out among us—the finalized music sheet, complete with lyrics. "I'm so sorry, but my printer ran out of ink and I had to run to the library before it closed!" he panted, dropping into an armchair by the makeshift stage. Garra made a face and left his synthesizer, coming over to his boyfriend and moving a gentle hand along his long black hair, tucking back the wayward strands.

"Breathe," he commanded softly. Haku instantly closed his eyes and tilted his head back, taking in a deep breath as everyone else scanned their eyes over their papers.

"Is it really already midnight?" Ino lifted her head from her arms. Sakura gave her girlfriend a sympathetic look.

"Ino, you can go back to the room. I'll be there in a few hours," she said. The blond shook her head and scooted closer to her, laying her head on the other's shoulder and peering at the sheet in her hands. "This guitar solo looks complicated."

"But you've been practicing, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I have faith in you."

They smiled and exchanged a soft kiss. I glanced over at Naruto, who was deep in concentrated thought as he looked at the paper in his hand. "Tabs," he murmured finally, nodding his head. "Tabs are good. Tabs are easy. Thanks Haku," he glanced up. The dark-haired man waved as he continued to breathe deeply. Garra kept running his hand through the other's hair idly, glancing at his music sheet.

"Slides aren't," he puffed his cheeks slightly in agitation. "Haku…"

"I wouldn't have wrote it that way if I didn't believe you could do it," he lifted a hand to point at his lover and returned to breathing. The red-head awarded him with a charming smile—which, unfortunately, he did not see. But I'm pretty sure he knew it was there anyway.

"Tabs, really?" Sakura brightened, double-checking her sheet. "Oh, awesome! I love these things!" Ino laughed at her affectionately. Both Shino and Shikamaru were asleep on the long couch, leaning against one another and snoring mildly. Kiba, who had moved to his drum set which his father did indeed deliver, propped the sheet on one of his cymbals and picked up his neon-green tape-wrapped drumsticks. _Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!_

"Wait, Kiba," Naruto sighed, standing up and shuffling over to him. He was tired—it showed. "We've been practicing solo for the longest time; all the rehersal's have just been about the minor songs, the one's leading up to the main event. This one's big. This will make or break us. We've gotta get it perfect."

"Then get your asses up here so we can do this, if you please," Kiba snarled impatiently. Sakura kissed Ino's forehead and stood, slinging the leather, flower-etched strap over her shoulder and across her chest, grabbing her dark wood instrument and walking up to the two up by the set-up. Garra leaned down and brushed his lips against Haku's, which earned him a beautiful smile. I felt slightly jealous as I headed up last. It must have shown on my face, because when I took my place beside Naruto, he tapped me on the shoulder.

"Sasuke?" he beckoned me closer. I leaned over and his lips found my ear. He flicked his tongue across my earlobe and I shuddered hard as I felt his hot breath caress the side of my face. "Don't get distracted," he was grinning. I turned my head to press my temple against his forehead, closing my eyes for a moment.

"I would have liked a good luck kiss," I was smiling slightly.

"I'll kiss you later," came the heavily-suggestive reply.

"Promise?" I kissed his nose. He laughed and pulled away. Kiba was looking impatiently at us, so I lifted my hand and motioned for him to go. And an instant before the music started, I realized that no one else but Naruto had ever heard me sing.

* * *

The room phone rang. I looked up from my notebook, Haku from his laptop, and Garra and Naruto from the sports car magazine they were both ogling over. I hoisted myself off the bed and crossed over to the desk, catching up the phone on the third ring.

"Hello?" I turned to face the others in the room.

"Neji's just dropped her off," Shino's voice informed through the earpiece. "He's taking the stairs down."

"Who's there with you?" I asked him. Naruto was mouthing at me: _'Is he gone yet?'_

"I'm heading down to meet Shikamaru in the band room," he answered, and I heard his voice echo as he entered the West Building's stairwell. "Kiba's walking around the campus, paying off the security guards."

I relayed this information to the others, then turned back to my original conversation. "Meet you guys in front of the music room?"

"Yeah, see you." _Click._ I hung up the phone. Naruto leapt off the bed, magazine all but forgotten.

"Woohoo!" he raised his fists into the air. "We are gonna rock this campus!"

"I can't believe I'm not in class," Garra mumbled, rising from the bed at a much more dignified pace.

"Isn't it exciting?" Haku shut down his laptop and beamed at them. "Let's go! I don't want to be late."

We trooped from my room out to the rotunda where Ino and Sakura were waiting at one of the tables. They stood as we approached and we all nodded at one another in silent understanding and continued. This was it—we were officially skipping class and heading straight for trouble as we descended the stairs and made our way out to the breezeway, where we ran into Kiba conversing with a school security officer. He saw us, said a hurried goodbye, and scuttled over to us, giving a solemn nod. There was no need, no room, to talk to one another: if we talked now, we would get nervous. It was as simple as that. We crossed the campus hurriedly and as we all drew closer to the destination building, we spotted Shino and Shikamaru leaning against the wall of the gymnasium that doubled as the band and music supply room. Naruto slipped the ring of keys from his jacket pocket and selected the one to the padlock on the front door (he had these thanks to the head of the music department, who was actually the only other one who knew about this fiasco and was looking _forward_ to it). With a _click_ he removed it and yanked the doors open wide. The equipment sat waiting where we had left it. Everyone grabbed what they were assigned to carry—this was pre-planned, there would only need to be one trip. Naruto locked up storage behind him, stashed the keys in his pocket again, and we hauled everything back to the gazebo in the center of the West Lawn. A few students were about and gave us odd looks as we lowered the speakers and amplifiers and cords and microphone stands to the concrete. Kiba, Shino, and Naruto ran to the common room to grab the guy's drums and bring them out. Several people stopped their Friday afternoon business to watch us set up the stage.

* * *

One hour later.

* * *

We still hadn't turned the amps on. Sakura plucked on her Cobra's silver strings with the ease of a long-time expert. Naruto stood beside her, ear-tuning his deep red Spruce and Flamed Maple Fender DG22S. It was his pride and joy. Garra was glancing at the music sheet he had received two weeks previous, adjusting his synthesizer's knobs and dials according to the notes he had scribbled on its borders. Haku was running the last wires from his set up to the power strips taped down to the cobblestone on one side, Shino at the other and doing the same thing. Kiba adjusted his drum set accordingly, making sure his leg had enough room to reach each of the pedals and his arms were loose and free to swing around. He was going to play hard, whether the song called for it or not—this was his last chance before Christmas break to get Hinata back. Shikamaru was setting up the mike stands for Naruto and myself, and he had a third one specially designed to attach to one of Kiba's drum stands. Ino was checking the microphones herself, making sure each was on and properly adjusted. I just closed my eyes and let them all work—I had to get in the mindset. I had to remember the lyrics. I wasn't even paying attention as Ino jammed one of the mikes into my hand and led the wire back to the closest amp, plugging it in.

"Sasuke?"

I opened one eye slightly. A blur of orange met my vision but I didn't wince; I was used to it. I no longer despised the sun.

"Yes, Naruto?" I looked up into his eyes. And I stared.

"Are you ready?" he asked me softly.

I rose, nodding: "Let's do this."

_Click_—I turned the mike on.

_**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

If that didn't get the entire damn campus' attention, nothing else would. I raised the microphone to my lips and cleared my throat.

"Faculty and staff, and fellow classmates," I said clearly, hearing my voice ring out across the mid-day sky as clear and sharp as any shard of glass. I smiled. _Good._ "We are the band, _Sharingan_. We formed near the beginning of this semester, and are already scheduled to perform in the live _Battle of the Bands_ competition that takes place from January to February, right here in this school." We were definitely getting attention now—some students were even hanging out of the dorm and building windows. "We've set up on the West Lawn this afternoon as both a promotion of our music, and to relay a message to a dear friend. Hopefully, this will get her attention." I looked back at the others. Naruto winked and readied his guitar. Sakura flashed me the victory sign, grinning broadly. Kiba nodded gravely. Garra looked at me, his fingers hovering over the keys of his synth. I turned back to the rapidly-growing audience. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

**_Pa-pa-pah pah dah! _**"_Like a wildfire_," **_Para pa-pa-pah!_** "_It's out of control_…" **_Bah pada pah! _**"_I let the flames take me_," **_Ba-dah! _**"_Burning me to the core_."

* * *

**_Pah da-da-da-da-da-dah! Da-da-da-da-da-dah! Dah dah dah da-dah da-da-da-da-dah! _**"_Holding me still at the point between; Zero and _Infinity," **_Parrum! _**"_Where both extremes are nothing...And I'm not sure what to do._"

* * *

**_Dah dah dah! _**"_Your blue eyes stand out strikingly_," **_Badah dah! _**"_From the sunset glow…of your face_." **_Da-da dah! _**"_Your aura speaks in silence, Of fire, anger, and pain_…" **_Parah da-da-dadah bah! _**"_But the cool sweet blue of your gaze_,"**_ Padah dah dah!_** "_Contradicts what you really feel_..."

* * *

**_Daradaradaradaradah! _**"_I'm not angel, but you take me to heaven_," **_Ba-doom! _**"_Just take me to heaven… In ways I've never known_." **_Barah doom doom!_** "_Hold me in your arms and take me far away_," **_Bah! _**"_Take me far away, and let me die beside you_..." **_Barah da-da-da!

* * *

_**

I breathed heavily. The crowd was cheering. _The crowd! _The others were eating it up! Naruto latched onto me with one arm and leaned over my shoulder to scream into the microphone:

"Last song! Are you ready to rock?" His response was a throaty, deafening roar. He retreated to his ownmike and strummed his chords to loosen his fingers. Kiba's cymbals _tinged_ softly as his drumsticks hovered over them in anticipation. But I had to say something before we started. It was all planned. All of it. Including the dean yelling at security to get us out of there. But there were so many people swarming around us that it would have been impossible. I took a deep breath and glanced at Shino. My throat burned. He tossed me a water bottle instantly. I unscrewed the cap and took a huge swig, relishing the cool sting that slammed into the back of my throat. I looked back at the others for confirmation. They were ready. I faced the audience again. _I can't believe we have an audience!_

"This is dedicated to our friend." I practically had to yell over them. When they realized I was talking again, they calmed down almost instantly. "She's going through a hard time right now, but then again, the guy who's in love with her—" I pointed back at Kiba. Instant catcalls from the crowd. "—isn't allowed to see her anymore." I swear, Ino must have been holding up cue cards somewhere or something. They were responding _exactly _the way I wanted them to. "So, he came up with the idea for this next song, and wants her to know that he misses her. We all do." I looked. And there she was, her hands clasped together and laying on her chest, her pale complexion attacked by two harsh red patches on her cheeks. "That's right, Hinata," I winked and a lot of people turned to see who I was addressing. "This song is for you." I looked back at the drummer. Kiba had his eyes closed and he looked so nervous and sick that I really did feel sorry for him. But we couldn't back down now. His yellow eyes found mine, then skipped over my shoulder and spotted the same woman I had. Tears finally came into his eyes. He clenched the drumsticks so hard, his knuckles turned stark white, clashing harshly with the neon-green tape. It just accented the fact that his hands were shaking.

"You can do it, Kiba," Naruto said so only the five of us could hear him. "Hinata's waiting." With that, the aforementioned man straightened and lifted his arms, looking at all of us expectantly. We all nodded. Haku, Ino, Shino, and even Shikamaru nodded as well from their places around the gazebo.

_Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!_

_**Pah-pah, ba-da-da-da-da da-dah! Bah dah-da-da-da-da da-dah! Ba-dah bada bah da-da-da! Tah ta-pah! Tah ta-pah! Tarararararararatah!**_


	11. Make or Break

**Notes: **Hooray, end of part one! Now, after this chapter, the point of view switches from Sasuke to Naruto, just to remind you so you're not confused. This entire chapter looks awesome in my head, but if you don't understand it, I'm sorry! I'm just writing to finish the concert—I can't wait to see what happens! (No, not even I know what'll happen at the end… :P) GO SASUKE AND YOUR UBER SINGING VOICE! –waves flag-

* * *

**_Part 1: Chapter 10_**

_Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!_

_**Pah-pah, ba-da-da-da-da da-dah! Bah dah-da-da-da-da da-dah! Ba-dah bada bah da-da-da! Tah ta-pah! Tah ta-pah! Tarararararararatah!**_

"_Pen and paper in my hand_," I closed my eyes and leaned over the mike. **_Dah dada dada da-da daaaaaaah dadada!_** The crowd cheered wildly. "_Thinking up this song for you_." Naruto's guitar kept in rhythm with my voice; I could see his fingers flying over the chords in my mind's eye. "_Haven't seen you, for days now, I'm not sure what to do_." **_Daradara da-dah! _**"_Listening to the radio, singing all the songs that remind me of you_," I opened my eyes and looked at the huge wave of people jumping up and down to the beat. I grinned slightly. "_And remind me of the things we used to say—_." **_Bah pah-dadadadadada-da da-da!_** "_And all the stuff we swore to do_." Naruto jumped forward, ignoring the fact he had his own mike as we hit the chorus. Kiba fairly stood up on his stool and pounded the hell out of his drums: **_Parrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrah pah!_** "_Everyday I look for you_."

"_For you_!" Naruto leaned over to sing and Kiba howled his line into the mike.

"_I want to tell you everything_," I continued, half-turning to my band. "_And have you tell me everything too_." Sakura's brow furrowed in concentration as she moved her hand rapidly back and forth, plucking the appropriate chords with a rose pink pick Ino had given her as a good luck charm. "_So, I'm always looking for you—_"

"_For you_!" Kiba and Naruto chimed again; the blond continued to hang on my shoulder.

"_Daydreaming about the times together; I had everything when we were together_," I resumed. **_Bah dah dada-da-da-dadadah dah dah!_** End of chorus. Naruto retreated to his area of the stage, bounding and playing at once. The audience ate it up—those who knew who he was screamed his name. Some were screaming mine. I was getting dizzy with the head rush this was giving me. I glanced back at Sakura for confirmation. She had relaxed since I last glanced at her, back to the rhythmic strumming that they used in the main verses. She looked excited; her cheeks were pink and her aqua green eyes glittered happily. Apparently, she loved the way this was going as well. And her solo was up soon._ Tick tick taktak! _Kiba on the cymbals reminded me that I had more lyrics to sing.

I whirled back on the audience, striding forward with every word until I could simply reach out a hand and touch them. "_You taught me how to see the nigh; I told you all you had to do was—_"

"_Take my hand_," Naruto joined my voice, then fell into concentrated silence as I continued.

"_And I could show you what the day brings_." **_Pa-rararah!_** "_I want to spend forever with you_—"

"_Just holding on and talking to you_!" Naruto's voice overpowered mine again. He was using his own mike this time.

"_It seems I ask for everything, when all I want is you_," I finished the verse. **_Bararararararararararah! Bah! Bah!_** We picked it up again: Garra used his synthesizer to slide the sound of the guitars and we busted out into the second repetition of the chorus.

"_And everyday I look for you_—" I sang.

"_For you_!" Kiba and Naruto both jumped up at their line.

"_I want to tell you everything, and have you tell me everything too_," I began to back up. The blond beside me did the same. We were clearing the makeshift stage for our first solo. "_So I'm always looking for you_—"

"_For you_!"

"_Daydreaming about the times together; I had everything when we were together_." Kiba made each of his drums sound like a roll of thunder as he rapidly moved his hands across the set up. **_BarararararaPahdararararaDahpahpapapapapapapapaBRAHDAHDAHDAPAHPAH!_** Sakura strode forward, planted her feet, and lifted her arm for the audience's attention. Kiba's drum roll finished. Her hand shot down: _Chkaaaaaaaa! _She narrowed her eyes in concentration and leaned over her guitar, her hand flying deftly over the silver strings, making her beautiful instrument sing. Her pink hair flashed in the cold air (which wasn't cold, but hot and alive with energy), glistening with sweat from the exertion of her playing. I stood back and watched in appreciation—she was damned good. Garra tweaked the dials on his synth and helped her along on the slides and chord vibrations as she began jumping around the stage, going right up to the audience and playing even harder and better as they grabbed at her. Naruto was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his fingers hovering over his own guitar, waiting for his chance to re-join the music. Kiba was keeping time with his right foot, the steady **dun-dun-dun-dun** resounding softly in under the wailing guitar. Sakura finished her solo with a flourish, standing in the center of the gazebo-stage with her arm raised again, this time in triumph. The crowd went absolutely _nuts._ She backed up to her place in front of Kiba and behind me as I crossed to be center stage again. I grinned at her and she grinned back, her face radiating her happiness beneath the redness and the sheen of sweat. I turned back to the almost-out of control student body; _everyone_ was out now. Teachers, students, people who lived nearby even. I raised the mike and was greeted with a shriek that I thought couldn't possibly be any louder.

"_When I'm not there for you, it hurts me like you can't know_," I closed my eyes, recalling the words in the back of my head, wondering if Hinata was still listening. **_Buh-dah-duh, buh-dah-duh, buh-dah-duh!_** "_Because you're always there for me; I'll try to be a better friend, so—_" **_Badah! _**"_Tell me the truth without subtlety, so I can keep learning more from you. To be the friend I can never seem to be—the one I want to be for you. So…_" **_BAH!_** "_Everyday I look for you—_"

"_For you_!" Kiba and Naruto screamed over the crowd.

"_I want to tell you everything_," I looked out into the crowd for her. It was as if the people had actually _carried _her closer. She was almost at arm's reach. "_And have you tell me everything too_." To add for effect, I pointed directly at her. Of course, she couldn't see this, but the people around her did and nudged her forward until she was there, right at the edge of the stage. "_So, I'm always looking for you_—"

"_For you_!" Naruto was the only one who sang this time. I chanced a glance back at Kiba. He was still playing but his eyes were wide and on her blushing face. I got an idea.

"_Daydreaming about the times together_," I took her hand and pulled her beneath the gazebo. The response from the crowd nearly drowned out our music. "_I had everything when we were together_." I let her go, standing her in my spot and scooting to Naruto's side. He grinned and flashed a quick thumbs up at me, then took to his guitar like a possessed man. The strings practically shrieked his music. Sakura whooped; Garra left his instrument alone and let the blond handle the sound tricks on his own. Kiba limited his playing to rhythmic taps; the lack of power behind the drums was a bit awkward, but necessary. He opened his mouth and began to sing.

"_Everyday I look for you_—"

"_For you_!" I repeated into my mike. Naruto did not help me; it was his solo.

"_So I can tell you every time I see you, 'I love you' and 'I miss you'_…" Hinata's face was paler than usual, but the blush was still high up on her cheekbones. "_And 'I'll always be here for you'_," he continued. It looked like he was crying again, but from this angle I couldn't tell. It didn't interfere with his voice, crying or not.

I sang my line again: "_For you_!"

"_I'm looking at a star now_," Kiba sang into his mike and I joined him on the next part of the line: "_Just for you._" He tightened his grip on his drum sticks. "_And hoping through my eyes that you can see it too. I make a wish on it for you_—"

"_For you_!"

"_And watch it fade away. It's sucked into the brand new day—the sun-lit sky is like our lives, you know. But I still want to be there_," my voice joined his next three words, "_just for you. And I want to be a better person_," again, "_just for you. And I just want to let you know now, that I don't care what other people say, or what they think they know_." They were both, most definitely crying now. I had to cut in before he lost his focus. I stepped up early and Naruto looked up from his jam session. I glanced at Garra to make sure he was ready to cover up if Kiba faltered on the drums. He had his fingers on the keys already—he was way ahead of me. I held up a hand so only the band would notice it and Kiba understood too. The drumming got louder, intense once more. I started the closing of the song.

"_My dearest friend, I will always dream, of all the times we had together; and remember always, your words of advice, and try to be all you need—_"

I looked at Naruto. He nodded and _twang_ed his guitar sharply as he darted up to sing the last line.

"_For you…_" we sang together into the microphone. **_Bah-da-da-da-da-dah DAH!_** The electric guitar cut off abruptly. We looked up at the audience. And they screamed. And screamed. And kept on screaming. Things were being thrown at us, but we weren't paying attention anymore. I saw Haku run to Garra and embrace him tightly. Ino whooped and tackled Sakura and the two stumbled, laughing happily. The sound was lost in the united roar of the campus. I heard a clatter and turned around only to laugh. Kiba had dropped the drum sticks and ducked out from behind the drums, coming over to the blind woman. He touched her face with his fingertips. I heard her gasp and then she flung herself into his arms.

"Kiba!" she wailed. He held her against him as Shino and Shikamaru huddled around them, talking excitedly to the friend they had missed. I smiled broadly and turned to the last member of Sharingan. Naruto was holding his guitar by his side, gripping it by the neck and looking at me with his clear, blue-eyed stare. I read the look: _We did it._ I crossed to him and extended a hand. He took mine with his free hand and I pulled him close to me, laying my forehead against his. He was sweaty and panting and grinning like a fool, but that kind of grin was contagious and I knew I was mirroring it. I was falling into his eyes. The cheers and whistles and applause fell away. It was me and him, the only ones left in the world.

"We did it," he voiced breathlessly. "We did it, Sasuke."

"Mm," I didn't care. I was happy, I was content, and Naruto was smiling at me—that was all that mattered. "Think they'll throw us a party?"

"I don't want to go," he said and I felt his hand press against the small of my back, holding me closer. "I want to be with you. Right now, there's no one else." I blinked and wondered not for the last time if he really did read minds.

"We'll just have a party of our own then," I chuckled. "Just the two of us."

"Only us," he agreed and kissed me. It was simple, it was brief, and no one else seemed to notice. But that's okay. It moved me in ways not even I could write down on paper.

* * *

_Thunk! _The last trunk was loaded. I turned to the others with a grin that had been on my face since the concert almost three weeks ago.

"See you guys in a month," I waved.

"And practice!" Naruto hollered from the passenger side window.

"Follow your own advice, chief!" Ino called back with a wink. She turned to me and extended a hand. "See you next semester, Sasuke."

"Bye, Ino," I shook it. "You and Sakura drive safely."

"Bye Sasuke!" the aforementioned girl waved from the small, dark purple Honda idling next to us. I released her hand, and Ino dropped into the passenger seat, shutting the door. I waved as they drove out of the parking lot, then turned to get into the seat of my Mustang.

"Oy, Uchiha! Uzumaki!" came the familiar howl as I pulled open the door. I glanced to the car backing up in front of us. Kiba waved from the back of the Ford pickup truck. His drums among some other suitcases and boxes were covered by a blue plastic tarp. Hinata was waving too. Shino started up the car as Shikamaru also offered a lazy wave, without even turning around. Naruto and I waved back.

"Bye Hinata!" we chimed in unison. She beamed and waved faster. The truck pulled out. Haku and Garra had left yesterday; they were going to spend Chirstmas with the red-head's family—they wanted to finally meet the man that had changed their delinquent son's life. For some reason, Haku had never been invited over before, but I had a feeling the events of this past semester had a lot to do with Garra's decision, whether he admitted it or not. I finally climbed into the navy-colored car. Beside me, Naruto was already commandeering the CD player. He wore the same expression I did: a wide grin was plastered on his face, making his round, scarred cheeks glow.

"Come on," I started the engine. "Let's go home."

He leaned over and kissed me.

"Let's go!" he pointed forward, and we were off.


	12. Kinjutsu Records

**_Notes:_ **Yay part two! Quick update is in order, I assume:

Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto met by chance after Sasuke misplaced his lyric notebook (he writes songs). Naruto invites him to be in a band, and they eventually form the group_ Sharingan_, which consists of:

**Naruto**—_bass guitarist, vocals_; **Sasuke**—_lyricist, lead vocals_; **Sakura**—_electric guitar, back-up vocals_; **Kiba**—_drums_; **Garra**—_synthesizer keyboard_; **Haku**—_composer_; **Hinata**—_back-up vocals_; **Ino, Shino, Shikamaru**—_technical managers_.

They are signed up for the Battle of the Bands contest in January/February, but due to some twisted events on jealous cousin Neji's part, _Sharingan_ nearly falls apart before their career can even take off! A last-minute performance and a brand new song clear the air and assure the band that they are all in this together, and the trip to Battle of the Bands is still on!

Remember dear readers, the POV has changed to our one and only Uzumaki Naruto! Yaaaaaaaaay! This part may have Sasuke a little less OOC, seeing as some really weird plot twists are going to appear…but that's for me to know and you to find out when you read it:P Same general warnings and disclaimers apply to Part Two, but! That "M" rating isn't there just for precaution, you know! There have been several implied moments of yaoi, if that hasn't given you a clue as to what is going to make this story earn that ranking. Oh, and to my reviewers:

**the troublesome twins: **Glad you liked it! Here's what you wanted! Took me damn near forever, though. XP

**hokuto: **Yay for fast updates! I told you I had no life. Heehee, I'm glad you like the song, and yes, I would give my left arm to hear Sasuke sing. And don't remind me of the valley thing! Agh! But I'm sure it kind of qualifies… -tweaks lyrics a bit- :P Yes. Yes, Neji is an ass. And he will still be an ass in part two. But an ass that will get his just desserts… I don't know how yet, but he will! XD

**TenshiKaitou: **You can't believe how incredibly difficult that was. Oo And I still think I could have done it better, but, I'm glad I didn't disappoint! Yaaaaaay, concert! And there's another one in part two, so, keep an eye out for some new lyrics and such.

**rabidotaku22: **Well thank you very much for the compliments! And, um… sure? XD

**akai amaterasu: **Heehee! Took long enough to get to the concert, huh? Hope you enjoyed. And yes, the –ish is gone. :D Huzzah! NaruSasu luff!

Now, on to part two!

* * *

**_Part 2: Chapter 1_**

I don't know why I was awake, and for a minute or two, I had no idea where I was. I mean, the walls were totally bare; _nothing _like my room, which is covered from floor to ceiling in band and music posters. Not that that's a bad thing, it just means I like music, right? I _am_ in a band and all… And suddenly, it came flooding back as I blinked myself fully conscious. It was Christmas break and I was staying with Sasuke in his apartment. _Oh yeah…_ I blushed and sat up, feeling the covers fall off my shoulders and into my lap. Bad move. I shivered hasrshly and quickly yanked them back up—it was _cold!_

"Did I wake you? Sorry," the cool, calm voice of my boyfriend spoke up and I looked around the living room where my futon was set up. Uchiha Sasuke was sitting in his armchair by the window, one hand propping his chin up as he stared out at the whiteness falling from the sky outside. I stood, taking my blankets and pulling them tighter around me, and padded over to him. Thank god I had socks on, that floor was like ice (as you can tell perhaps, I've never been in a cold climate before).

"It's okay," I stood beside him, pretending to stare out the window when I was really just looking at him. He was so gorgeous in this light, or lack thereof; his liquid blue-black hair fell gently over his eyes and the tips slightly brushed his shoulders (he needed a hair cut, but to be honest, I like it this way). "Why are you awake though?" I squinted at the digital clock on the side table and had to blink three times to assure myself I was reading it correctly. _Four twenty-seven a.m.!_

"I just had some lyrics stuck in my head," he mumbled, and it was then I noticed the notebook laying open in his lap. I saw four lines scribbled there.

"May I?" I asked and he handed the book to me wordlessly. I read them to myself: _'And I can't shake the feeling my voice goes unnoticed, And I can't hide the fact that I want you to notice, And sometimes I think It'd be so good to notice, The way that you're looking right at me tonight.'_ "Sounds like a hook," I gave it back. He nodded into his hand, his eyes keeping to the window as he set the book in his lap again.

"It's stuck in my head; I couldn't sleep," he explained, placing his pen in between the two pages and shutting the notebook. "I came out here to think, but I really didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay," I repeated with a small smile, my hand coming out automatically to touch his shoulder. We stayed like that for a few moments, my fingers moving from his shoulder, along his neck, to his face, and then his hair. Now that my attention was drawn to the snow falling outside, I relied on my fingers to tell me what he looked like. I've caught myself doing that since I first met Hyuuga Hinata, the blind woman we threw a concert for on the last few days of school. I've wondered what it'd be like not to be able to play my guitar, not be able to see Sasuke… I have to admire her, and at the same time I'm thinking this, I wonder—

"I wonder if Hinata and Kiba are doing okay?" he speaks up and I blink, looking back to him. "They haven't called."

"Oh… Yeah, no, they haven't," I start smiling again. It's weird how he and I can do that; it's like we know what the other is thinking while they're thinking it. I've done it to Sasuke a couple of times, and each time he gives me the same look of _"how the hell?"_ and I honestly don't know. Maybe it's because we're so close? Even though we met just a few months ago, I feel like I've known him my entire life. Weird, huh?

"Do you think things are okay with them?" he asks slowly. "You know, with Neji and all…"

"I'm sure Kiba and Shino have whipped his ass by now," I answer with a half-grin (because in all honesty, I would like to whip Neji's ass too), "and maybe Shikamaru, if they got him off his lazy ass long enough." He laughs softly and I smile at him, even though he's still not looking at me. I don't take offense to it, that's just the way he is. "And I bet Garra and Haku are having an interesting time at his parent's place," I add, and this warrants a grin, and he finally turns his eyes to me. I shiver, and I think he thinks it's because of the cold, but it's not. His eyes always make me feel like I'm getting lost, like I've fallen into an abyss that I can't escape and frankly, don't want to. I love his eyes—I could stare into them for hours.

"Are you cold?" I was right. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"

"That stuff you made for me the other day?" I ask, excited. "Please!" He laughs and gets up, crossing to the tiny kitchen on the other side of the living room and I sit in his armchair as he begins pulling out mugs and stuff from the fridge. I quickly lose interest in what he's doing though, even though it's Sasuke. I've always been like that. My eyes go to the window, to the snowflakes that are drifting downward, and I don't think I've ever been this peaceful before. Time suddenly seems endless as the whiteness from the sky blends into the whiteness on the ground and everything I've ever worried about in my life fades away. And suddenly, he's there in front of me, holding out a steaming white mug. How long have I been spaced out? That soft smile on his face tells me that it doesn't matter how long I had drifted, and I take the glass from him. Our hands brush as the cup transfers, and on a spur of the moment, I take his as well. He gives me an odd look as I put them on the windowsill together and reach up, taking his waist and pulling him down into my lap. I reach around and wrap the blanket around the both of us, pick up my mug, and sit back, blowing on its contents. He's quiet and still, as if not sure what to do, and all I can do is smile as an answer. He leans down and presses his forehead to mine, his lips coming closer; my eyes close automatically.

"Naruto…?" he whispers.

"Hmm?" I tilt my head and nuzzle him lightly. He gives a soft chuckle and kisses my forehead, leaning back against me and picking up his mug as well. The rest is silence.

* * *

There's a knock on the door. I look around quickly for Sasuke, seeing as it's his house, but don't find him. Another knock. "Sasuke? The door." But he doesn't come out, and the knocker's starting to get impatient: _Knock knock KNOCK!_ I get up from the couch, laying my guitar on the cushions and moving to the door. "Who is it?" I call out.

"My name's Hayate Kakashi," comes the monotone response from the other side of the door. "I'm looking for Uchiha Sasuke, and perhaps, an Uzumaki Naruto as well." I lift an eyebrow and set the chain in its catch, unlocking the other two bolt locks and opening the door as far as the chain would let it.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto…" I say slowly. He has silver gray hair spiked and combed to one side, falling over the left side of his face, where a black bandana covers what his hair does not. He is tall, and he wears clothes that are seemingly too small for him (the pants cut off mid-calf and his sleeves, mid-forearm), but they look good on him for some unknown reason. His only visible eye is disturbingly lazy—more so than Shikamaru's eyes together; his face _seems_ vacant, but that one eye feels like it's surprisingly keen. He's holding out something while I've been in la-la-land, and when he lifts his visible eyebrow, I blink and take whatever it is through the crack in the door. It's a business card: _Hatake Kakashi, Recruiter and Manger of Kinjutsu Records._

"I've heard about your band, Sharingan," he starts and I'm already getting dizzy. _No way! Are we being scouted?_ "Actually, you're being offered a label." _Did I say that out loud? _"Yes, you did."

"SASUKE!" I holler and unlatch the chain, throwing the door open, pulling Kakashi inside, and slamming the door shut. "SASUKE!"

"Who died?" the black-haired song writer came out into the hall—he had been in the bathroom.

"Sasuke, this guy wants to give us a label!"

I saw him perk up: "You're kidding?"

"Well, there are a few things we have to talk about," he looked down and I did too. I was still grabbing his hand. I dropped it abruptly and looked at Sasuke, He motioned for the guy to come into the living room and I scuttled back to the couch, plopping down and grabbing my guitar, watching as Sasuke turned his armchair to face the room and offered it to him.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked politely.

"Let's just get down to business. I'd like to get home as soon as possible," he leaned forward and leaned his chin atop his hands. Sasuke copied his pose. I just leaned back against the couch and slid my fingers quietly over the silver chords. "Now then," he cleared his throat, "I heard from a reliable source in your school that you all performed live on the campus near the last day of classes."

"Yes," Sasuke said clearly. Whoa, business mode switched _on._

"How was it?" Kakashi asked.

"Great!" I bounced on the sofa. "Everyone on campus turned up! We totally rocked out!"

"Uh-huh," his lazy eye glanced me over. "You do realize that you disrupted classes and almost had a riot on school grounds."

I glanced at Sasuke nervously. He leaned over and without turning his head or taking his hands down from his mouth, he whispered: "The concert _was_ a riot." I chuckled then cleared my throat abruptly as he straightened. Kakashi looked back and forth between the two of us before continuing.

"From what I've heard, I like you kids. Do you mind if I take a look at some lyrics? Maybe some music?" he asked. Sasuke started to rise but I put a hand on his arm and reached over the arm of the couch to my guitar case leaning against the corner. I rummaged through the front pocket and came out with our first official music sheet: it was the song Sasuke had written for Hinata and Kiba—_'For You'_. I handed it to him and he skimmed it over with his eye(s?), mumbling to himself. Finally he handed it back and put his hands on his knees, standing. We automatically rose as well. He extended a hand first to Sasuke, who shook it, and then to me. I was getting confused, Sasuke was not. Had something important just happened? "If you show me Sharingan is a band worthy of Kinjutsu Records at Battle of the Bands next month, you've got a contract."

My eyes widened and I couldn't help but blurt out: "Really?"

"Yes, really," he shook my hand as well. "I'll keep in touch, boys. Later." He waved and showed himself out. After the door shut behind him I screamed. Sasuke jumped, startled, and I screamed again, bouncing into the middle of the living room and doing a happy dance.

"WE'RE GONNA GET A CONTRACT! WE'RE GONNA GET A CONTRACT! WE'RE GONNA—" I chanted until a tackle from behind threw me onto the couch and I looked up at a laughing Sasuke. I grinned back and wrapped my arms tightly around him, pulling him close.

"We did it," he said softly.

"Should we tell the others?" I snickered.

"Nah, they'll find out," he shook his head with a smile that seemed to grow wider with each thought of success that flew through his head. I felt the same smile on my face as the same thoughts ran through my head. _We did it! I can't believe we did it! We have a label! We're gonna be famous!_

"Sasuke," I said breathlessly, still high off the elation running through my system. "I love you." And I froze. _…I cannot…BELIEVE…I just said that…_ I mean, yeah, sure, we admitted that we were falling _in_ love, but, to say _that_ without a moment's notice…? Oh god, what would he say? _Is he angry?_ And to my utter amazement, Sasuke's smile turned gentle as a soft red color began to tinge his cheeks.

"Me too, Naruto," he lowered his head and I could feel his breath washing across my cheek. It was the last coherent thing said before his lips met mine. "Me too…"


	13. Happy Christmas

**Notes: **I'm such a retard. XD Wow! I definitely need to re-read these chapters before I post them up. :P

* * *

**_Part 2: Chapter 2_**

It was three days until Christmas before I realized I still didn't have a gift for Sasuke. I've never really done the whole present-exchange thing before, so it never occurred to me until he and I went out to look at the decorations the town had put up for the holiday. As we walked down the street (it was early evening) he explained that his town did this every year, and each year they tried to make the decorations better than last. I was impressed—not many people were into celebrating Christmas where I lived, so all this was new for me as well. I told him this as we walked into the marketplace.

He shrugged, "I was never really one to celebrate Christmas myself, not after…" He didn't have to say anymore, I remembered: _'My parents died in a car accident… My brother…'_

"Me either," I agreed, taking my hands out of my pockets so I could rub them together. He glanced at me briefly before shifting his stare to the street and the shops along either side of it.

"This is basically where everyone comes for anything they need," he gestured. "From books to clothing, it's all here."

"You sound like an advertisement," I grinned.

"Shut up," he gave me a half-assed glare, but I knew he had thought it was funny too. We started down the street and I couldn't help but try to look into all the windows I could: there was a candy place, a book store, and even a music shop.

"Sasuke, let's go in here!" I touched his arm and ducked into the shop. A few bells above my head jangled merrily as I entered and the shopkeeper looked up from something he was tinkering with on the countertop.

"How can I help you?" he smiled politely, his brown eyes closing slightly behind his glasses.

"Just looking," I grinned back and turned to ask Sasuke if he ever came here…but he wasn't next to me. Frowning, I turned and looked back out the store's big display window, but I couldn't see him. I huffed. _Great. Now I'm lost._

"You okay?" the man offered.

"Yeah," I shook my head and gave him another smile. "Just looking for a friend of mine."

"Well, if your friend knows you well enough, they'll know where to find you," he winked at me and I blinked back. He had a point. So I walked deeper into the shop, looking at all the instruments and accessories hanging from the walls and on overcrowded shelves, my hands jammed deep in my pockets for warmth (and to keep myself from touching anything). There were guitars, replacement strings, music sheet stands, trumpets, flutes, and… I stopped moving and let my gaze wander over the row of lyric notebooks sitting on an eye-level shelf. _This is…the perfect thing for him._ They were all different sizes and colors and different paper-makes; I didn't know which one to consider first. I thought about his old notebook, the blue one with the red and white fan on the cover. It was almost completely full, definitely time for a new one, but how could I choose one he'd like?

"Excuse me…?" I called from the isle.

The man from the front made his way over. "Yes?"

"I'm looking for a present for a friend of mine," I motioned to the shelf of books. "He writes songs for our band. Which one should I get him?"

"In a band, huh?" he grinned and leaned over to inspect the notebooks. "Professional?"

"Getting," I recalled the other day. "I want something dark and simple, something like his old notebook."

"What's his old one look like?"

"It's dark blue, and the cover has a red fan with a white handle on it."

"Sounds like the Uchiha line."

I wasn't sure if I'd heard him correctly: "The Uchiha line?"

"They're pretty underground, but excellent quality," he nodded, reaching toward the back of the shelf and taking out one of the notebooks, handing it to me for inspection. The cover was deep, deep dark red, almost like dried blood, and printed smoothly on the front were three black comma-shapes, the rounded parts aligned in a triangular pattern and the tails curving over to make a spiral-like pattern. I opened it and leafed through the blank pages—same material, same make.

"I've never heard of them," I closed the book.

"Like I said, it's an underground label that makes accessories such as guitar straps and even some clothing. And that notebook you're holding in your hands."

I reached for my wallet. "How much is it?"

* * *

_Ding ding ding! _"There you are."

There was only one person here that would address me like that. I turned to Sasuke and smiled, but it suddenly felt strained. "Sorry," I shrugged. "Got seduced by the window display and I had to come in."

"I know what you mean," he laughed and nodded at the store owner. The man in the glasses nodded back. "I come here all the time," he told me. "It's the only decent music place around here."

"Thank you," the owner responded with a warm smile. "Your friend here was just asking me about what guitar strap I could recommend for him. You've been in this store often enough—any suggestions?"

"My suggestion is to ask Sakura where she got hers customized and do the same." He looked apologetically at the older man. "No offense."

"None taken," he winked back. "If I wasn't promoting my own store, I'd tell him to do the same."

"Haha, thanks," I laughed nervously and took Sasuke's arm. "Let's get home. I'm getting hungry."

"Yeah," he nodded and waved over at the man behind the counter once more. "See you later."

"Bye," he waved to the both of us and we left the music store with another loud jingle. The bag beneath my jacket was crinkling a little too loudly, so to cover it up, I started talking.

"Where did you go for all that time?" I asked him.

"I was looking for you," he answered but didn't look at me.

I grinned. "You got me a preeeeeeeeeeeesent!"

"I—" he abruptly closed his mouth. "Let's go home," he mumbled and scurried up the street.

"Oy, Sasuke!" I followed him, one hand over the notebook hidden in my jacket to keep it from falling out. "Tell me what my present is!"

"No!" he called back and walked faster.

"Oh, come on!" I laughed, chasing after him.

* * *

I couldn't sleep. I had waited up until Sasuke had gone to his room and got the new notebook from its hiding place in my guitar bag. I had to wrap it. Eventually, I couldn't decide on what to use for wrapping paper so I rummaged through my bag again and pulled out one of my spare silver chords. I looped it once lengthwise and once the opposite way then pulled it tight near the center and tied it up with a bow. The string rubbing against itself had screeched unpleasantly and I winced, glancing up at the hallway where his room was. I hadn't woken him though, so now I sat in the armchair with the blanket around my shoulders and stared out the window at the still night. The notebook lay in my lap, the cold string freezing my skin. _A few more hours. Then I can give him his gift…_

A gentle hand on my face was what woke me up. I opened my eyes and looked up blearily. A black and pale-flesh blob met my vision and I blinked a few times to focus. The blob turned into Sasuke.

"Are you awake, Naruto?" his voice landed on my ears and I purred low in my throat before I could stop myself. _My god I love his voice…_ Then I sat up hurriedly, sleep all but forgotten.

"Christmas!" I yelped.

"Yes," he nodded patiently. "It's Christmas." I leapt up and something struck my feet. _Shit! The notebook!_ I bent over quickly and snatched it up, hiding it behind my back. Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at me, and we stayed like that for a few seconds. Then he lifted a hand, holding out a small light blue gift bag, casting his eyes downward as his face reddened. "Happy Christmas." I took it with one hand, feeling myself turn hot from my neck to the tips of my ears. I pushed the other hand forward, offering him the notebook.

"Happy Christmas," I cleared my throat nervously. He took his gift and looked at it for what seemed like forever. And then I was holding him in my arms. "S-Sasuke…" I felt a lump rising in my throat. _He…likes it?_ I hold him against me and I feel him trembling.

"This… You…?" he tries to speak, sounding breathless. I nod slowly, my free hand coming up to stroke the black bangs from his eyes.

"I found out about these notebooks from the guy at the store," I told him, and then guessed: "Your brother?"

I felt him nod as well. "One of my mother's ideas that he took on after she…" He cut himself off and I just hugged him tighter, laying my head against his. After a while however, he started to calm down and I felt his hands relaxing from their near-death grip on the back of my shirt. "You haven't opened your present," he finally looked up at me. I smiled back softly and reached around him, pulling open the bag as he turned in my arms and watched me lift his gift from its wrapping. It was a pair of navy blue wool gloves with a small metal plate over the backs of the hands, with the spiral symbol on the back of my lucky jacket. The gloves had no fingertips. I looked at him. "I want you to come and visit me more often," he explained, "but I don't want you to be cold. And this way, with nothing covering your fingers, you can still play your guitar."

I kissed the back of his neck and he made a slight breathless noise. "They're perfect," I whispered truthfully.

He leaned back against me and closed his eyes, beaming softly. "Thank you for my gift. I do need a new notebook."

"And thank you for the gloves," I nodded.

_Knock knock knock!_

"Did you invite someone else over?" I looked up at the door.

"No…" he slipped out of my arms and walked into the hallway. _Knock knock knock! _"I'm coming!" I heard the door open. "Who—ARGH!"

"SASUKE!" a girl squealed. I quickly grabbed my jeans from yesterday and threw them on as something came hurtling at me. "NARUTO!"

I hit the floor: "What the hell!"

"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" two female voices chimed in unison and I finally realized that Sakura was on top of me, and had her arms wrapped tightly around my neck. I sat up and off in the main hallway I saw Sasuke do the same, only the woman on top of him was Ino.

"Hi?" I nearly saw the question mark floating above his head.

"Normal people come in on invitation!" I rubbed the back of my head.

"We're not normal people, we're your bandmates," Sakura stood and offered her hand. I took it and got up as well. The other two joined us in the living room.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, not unkindly.

"Well, Ino's parents really didn't take to the fact that their daughter and I were dating seriously," Sakura began, looking oddly unruffled about the subject.

"So I told them to kiss my ass," Ino shrugged with an uncaring smile that matched her girlfriend's. "And we came to visit you guys."

"You're house is right between Ino's and mine," Sakura spoke up again. "So we figured we'd drop by to say hi before heading to my place."

"Her parents are cool," Ino finished. I looked at Sasuke, who was looking at me, then we turned back to the two girls.

"Happy Christmas," I smiled.

"You can stay as long as you'd—" _Rrrrrrrrrrrring! _Sasuke was cut off by the telephone. "Excuse me." _Rrrrrrrrrrrring! _He crossed to the kitchen counter, where the black telephone sat shrieking. _Rrrrrrrrrr—_He caught up the receiver. "Hello?" His eyes suddenly widened, and I saw something in them that I only saw very, very rarely. He hit a button on the phone base and hung up the handheld piece. "You still there?" he asked.

"Yeah," Shino's voice came over the speakerphone. "Hinata wanted me to call you guys up."

"Ino and Sakura are here too," Sasuke offered.

"Even better; we don't have to make another call," Shikamaru's tired-sounding voice replaced Shino's bored one.

"Are you guys on speaker too?" I called and was answered by a chorus of "HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" from the phone.

"How are you all? I miss you," Hinata's soft voice sounded as if she were smiling.

"Yeah, and I've got some new rhythms to let you hear!" Kiba said excitedly.

"Down boy," Shino spoke from the background.

"Anyway, we were just calling to see how you were; I'm glad Sakura and Ino are there too!" Hinata's voice again.

"We miss you too, Hinata!" Sakura beamed at the phone.

And we spent half the day catching up with the others. I have to admit, that was the best Christmas I've ever had.


	14. Back to School

**_Part 2: Chapter 3_**

I watched him unpack, my own backpack sitting up in my lap as I leaned against it. He closed the top drawer and turned to see me staring. I didn't mind that he knew, and he didn't seem bothered that I was watching.

"You okay?" he made his way back to the suitcase laying open in the middle of the floor. I blinked and sat up, shifting back to lean against the wall.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" he grabbed an armful of clothes and made his way back to the drawers.

"Battle of the Bands," I admitted. "I'm a little nervous."

"Now you're nervous?" he yanked open the second drawer and dumped his clothes inside. "You should really start worrying after you see our competition."

"I guess so," I wrinkled my nose.

"What's got you so worried?" he closed the second drawer and walked over to me, sitting on the edge of his bed and leaning his elbows against his knees. I took in a breath and let it out in a rush and for a moment, I couldn't find the words to express what I was thinking.

Finally though, I opened my mouth and spoke up slowly: "The idea of such a huge competition worries me. I mean, we've only ever performed for an audience once, and this is like, a gathering of the best." He looked at me for a long time, his dark amber-colored eyes staying on mine, his face wearing a serious expression. After a moment, he reached out and gently touched my knee. His fingertips brushed over my skin like feathers, and an electrical charge zapped through my leg and up my body to my brain where suddenly, little alarms were going off: _I want him to keep touching me…_

"To my knowledge," he said softly, a small smile gracing his pale lips, "you're a very competitive person, Naruto. Not confrontational, just willing to prove yourself at any cost. That's the exact attitude we all need to face off against these other bands." He cocked his head toward me. _So cute._ "And as for them, I think it would be a good idea to go and watch a few concerts and get an idea of the general skill level. Don't you agree?" I nodded. "Besides, Kakashi said we had potential, didn't he? It'd be a shame to mess up a huge chance like this."

"Chance like what?"

We looked up at the new voice. Garra entered the dorm room, a pack slung casually over one sinewy shoulder. Haku came in right behind him, pulling a rolling suitcase into the room after him.

"Hello," he smiled pleasantly. Garra threw his bag onto his bunk and leaned against the bunks, crossing his arms and looking at us.

"Chance like what?" he asked again.

"Winning the Battle of the Bands," Sasuke replied and I looked at him gratefully. He was awesome at coming up with stuff off the top of his head.

"How was Christmas?" I asked them both as we watched Haku settle his suitcase on top of his desk and Garra made a face, turning to his bag.

"Garra's mom is so nice," Haku gushed as the red-head scowled.

"It was 'tease Garra' month," he rolled his heavily-makeuped eyes.

"She showed me the _cutest_ pictures of him as a baby!" the dark-haired man beamed at his compation.

"I was cooking at the time; I didn't know what was happening until it was too late," he said grumpily.

"And she told me he used to make up songs for her on his keyboard when he was little."

"I still do," Garra admitted.

"She said he was like a little demon during his gang phase."

"Well, I was."

"She's the sweetest woman!"

"They tag-teamed me."

I hid a grin behind my hand as Sasuke coughed, trying to conceal the laugh that had slipped from his mouth. I looked between the three roommates and stood, grabbing my backpack and hoisting it over my shoulder. They all looked at me as I headed for the door.

"You three catch up," I waved and pulled the door open. "I have to go unpack. Then I want to find the others."

"Do you want me to come?" Sasuke stood and I shook my head, smiling back, but the smile felt strained.

"No, you have to finish," I waved again. "I'll be back later on."

"Bye," Haku returned the wave, looking slightly confused and I left before I could feel bad. I know my decision to leave the room was abrupt, but I suddenly wanted to be alone to keep thinking about what I had on my mind. Mostly about Battle of the Bands, some of it about Sasuke. Plus, I kind of wanted to be alone with him a little longer. Garra and Haku coming back was kind of like a sign that Christmas vacation was really, truly over and I no longer had Sasuke all to myself. In his little apartment, time had seemed endless and the silence had been comforting. I should have told him about my worries then, but it was just so peaceful, so tranquil, and I didn't want to ruin it. I was still a little worried, despite everything Sasuke had told me just now. Usually, I just acted brave because if I didn't, I'd never accomplish anything. Somebody had to be that way. And for some bizarre reason, I was getting a bad feeling about the upcoming competition and oddly, it had something to do with my boyfriend, although I had no idea what it could possibly be. So now I was worried about Sasuke…_ Sasuke…_ With all my musing, I had somehow made it up to my dorm room and between here and there, I had pulled out my keys. I slipped them into the locks and heard the tumblers click back, and I pushed open the door, tossing my bag into the center of the room and slipping inside the darkness. Suddenly, I didn't feel like turning on so I left it the way it was and made my way around my mess to the bed. I stood there, looking at the dark blue sheets until they blurred and I couldn't tell blue from the blackness of the room anymore. I just stood there.

"Sasuke…" I spoke aloud, relishing the way his name rolled off my tongue and settled into the atmosphere around me. It sounded so pleasant, so…seductive. Sasuke and I have only kissed and teased one another, which I'm fine with. I don't want to dive headfirst into this and increase my chances of messing up somewhere, and I knew just by observing him that Sasuke was not a person who was totally into the touchy-feely-clingy aspect of relationships. Neither am I really, which is good I suppose. But that touch from earlier had suddenly convinced me that I _wanted_ more now, so much more. It was like that shock had awoken some part of my brain that had been dormant before and now my brain was up and yelling at me—**_I WANT! _**Damn natural instincts knowing everything before the mind figured it out.

"Naruto?"

I was definitely delusional now. I was thinking about him so much, I was hearing his voice when he wasn't around. A slight brush of fingers ran across my upper arm and I couldn't stop the shiver that raced down my back, making the hairs on my arms and legs stand up on end. Great, now I was feeling him as well.

"Naruto…"

Again, his voice. And his tone had changed to one so soft, so sweet, that my eyes slid halfway closed in pleasure. A palm pressed against my shoulder and I leaned my head toward the touch, purring slightly in my throat. _I want Sasuke… I want him…_

"What's the matter with you, _dobe_?" _Nothing's the matter. Sasuke's here with me. Sasuke…_ "Of course I'm here. Where else would I be?" And I was suddenly slapped harshly back to reality. The voice had been real.

"S-Sasuke!" I whirled around. He gave me a funny look, his hand still at the level where my shoulder had been. _He was really touching me, then…_

"Are you alright, Naruto?" he lifted an eyebrow slowly and lowered his hand at the same time.  
"Yeah, yes! Yes, I'm fine," I stammered awkwardly, grabbing my bag from the floor and tossing it onto the bed, opening it. I felt his eyes on me as I started pulling out clothes, my face getting hotter and hotter: _Dammit!_

"Are you sure?" he stepped closer.

"Yeah, Sasuke," I smiled nervously (I lie very badly). "Totally fine! I thought you were unpacking, though. So, I wasn't expecting…"

He shrugged. "So I came up here to keep you company. Returning the favor," he grinned at me.

"Oh," I grinned back, a little more sincere this time. "Well, you don't have to, you know."

"I want to," he gave me another weird look. "Is it a problem that I want to spend time with you?"

"No!" I dropped the clothes in my arms and whirled around to face him. "No, not at all! I just… I really…" I shook my head and finally gave a relaxed smile. "Thanks, Sasuke."

"Don't thank me, you dork," he sat in my purple rolling computer chair and watched me pick up the bundle of clothes I had dropped. "So, do you want to find Kiba and the others when you're done?"

"Definitely!" I cried and started to put my things away.

* * *

"OY!" I glanced at Sasuke. He shrugged and I looked up at the window again, cupping my hands over my mouth this time. "YO, PUNK! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" _Shunk! _A window opened and two familiar faces peered down at us from the third story of the boys' dorm.

"Kiba's helping Hinata move back in still," Shikamaru called.

"Yeah, we were helping too, but they only had one more box to take so we came back here to unpack," Shino explained.

"I haven't even started," came Shikamaru's tired-sounding comment.

"So they're at the girls' dorm by the gym?" Sasuke double-checked.

"Yes," the two chimed back in unison. So we shoved our hands into our pockets and trudged up the block to the main street and turned right, shuffling our feet along the sidewalk as I hummed and I saw Sasuke bobbing his head to the rhythm out of the corner of my eye. Crossing the major street, we headed down toward the gymnasium and the theater when we saw a dog come pelting out from between both buildings and run toward us and a familiar voice hollered: "STOP THAT DOG!" Kiba came rounding the corner, hood pushed back by the wind as he full-out ran after the black dog. I shook my head and jogged forward and the dog yipped, running to meet me. I caught it as it jumped up to lick me and cradled it in my arms as Kiba stumbled to a stop and bent over, wheezing.

"You need to exercise more," Sasuke commented dryly.

"Oh…shut up…" Kiba heaved and tried to stand up straight. "Dog…thanks…"

"It's not yours, is it?" I handed it to him and he shook his head.

"Hinata…"

"Kiba?" We turned to the girl as she peeked her head out from around the end of the building, tilting her head to catch any sound to tell her who and what was around her.

"Hinata, I told you to wait for me back at the dorm…" he sighed, drawing in a deep, slow breath in an attempt to regulate his breathing. She inched toward us and we met her halfway, and Kiba handed her the black puppy. "Here you are."

Hinata took the wriggling mass in her arms and gave it a smile, scratching its belly with three fingers. "Thank you, Kiba. I'm sorry you had to run after him."

"New dog?" I asked.

"Kiba gave him to me," she turned her smile toward the aforementioned man. "His name is Ciaran."

"I figured if she got a new seeing-eye dog, Neji wouldn't have to hang around her and try to mess us up again," Kiba grunted and I nodded in agreement to his logic. New dog equals no Neji. Yay! "But, he's not a very good seeing-eye dog, as he keeps running away."

"Oh, he'll be fine," Hinata turned her body toward Sasuke and I. "Have you guys been practicing over Christmas break? I did, and so did the others. We drove our parents crazy," she giggled.

"A little," I admitted, looking in slight embarrassment at Sasuke, who gave me a reassuring grin; it was okay.

"Well, when are the next practices scheduled for?" she asked excitedly. "Isn't that competition coming up pretty soon?"

"It starts next week," Sasuke informed. "We don't perform until mid-February. Although, I do want to road-trip to a few other competitions and see what we're up against."

"That sounds like a good idea," Kiba agreed. "But we still need to put in some major practice time."

"Then how about rehearsal three times a week?" I spoke up. "Tuesday, Thursday, and all day Saturday."

"It sounds good, but will the others go for it?"

"I have no problems with that," Sasuke shrugged. "We'll just ask the others tomorrow when we see them."

"For now, that's the schedual!" I declared.

"Wonderful!" Hinata squeezed her new puppy.

"Slave driver," Kiba grunted.

"You're never satisfied, are you?" I gave him a look.


	15. The Akatsuki

**Notes: **ACK! ACK! ACK! I am SO so very sorry I haven't updated recently! The mess with Hurricane Katrina, and then I moved back up to my college dorm, and I've just started week two of classes so I just haven't had any time to update at all! SORRY! Here's a chapter to tide you guys over 'til I can really start punching them out again!

* * *

**_Part 2: Chapter 4_**

"_And sometimes I think it'd be so good to notice, the way that you're looking right at me tonight_."

_TWANG!_

Everyone looked over at me. I winced and lowered my eyes to my baby: one of the silver chords had snapped, and now it curled at me like an angry snake. I cleared my throat nervously—they were still staring.

"Ahaha," I smiled at them. "Played that last note too hard."

I tried to avoid the amber-black eyes that were focused on me; _he_ would know that wasn't really the case. _He_ would know just how much that last line got to me.

"Maybe it's time for a break," Sakura offered tentatively from beside me.

"We just started ten minutes ago," Sasuke's tone plainly stated '_are you joking?_'.

"Not _that_ kind of break…" she trailed off meekly.

"Cancelling practice for tonight would actually be a good idea," Garra spoke up from behind his synthesizer keyboard set-up. "We've been practicing hard for three weeks now."

"Yeah, and Battle of the Bands is four weeks away," Sasuke reminded.

"Just for tonight!" Sakura continued boldly now that she knew someone else was on her side. "One cancelled practice, then we're back on schedual!"

"I think…" I finally opened my mouth and there were those eyes again. This time, I didn't avoid them. "I think Sakura and Garra have a point. These practices have been long and hard; we deserve a day off."

"Practice is only three times a week," he said bluntly and I winced.

"Yes, but the other four days out of the week, we're all trying to keep our shit together in our classes," I pointed out. He made a face; he knew I was right. As a matter off fact, just yesterday he was saying that his History of American Culture class was really pounding him for work and he barely had time for any of his other assignments. Sakura, Garra, and myself as a Fine Art majors needed to put in some extreme homework and classtime hours in the studio. Hinata and her Communications major, Kiba and his Design major, the others with their own areas of study to worry about; it was tough for everyone. And after a long pause, where Sasuke was looking into my eyes and it felt like he was reading every thought that crossed my mind, he gave a reluctant nod.

"Fine," he grumbled. "But only tonight."

There was a collective cheer from the other members and they instantly started to break down the set-up. I turned from the commotion and made my way to a darkened corner of the lounge, plopping down on a dark, overstuffed couch and fingering the snapped chord. The frayed fibers scratched against the pads of my fingers and I frowned as I mentally counted how many wires that had been in the past three weeks. Seven. It always seemed to happen whenever I was thinking about

Sasuke sat down next to me, giving me a quiet look.

"You okay?" I prompted.

"I should ask you that," he gave me a fake, tight-lipped smile. "Sorry I've been such a slave driver lately."

"Someone has to be," I shrugged and leaned back on the couch. He watched me silently. "Aren't you tired though?" I glanced over after a moment.

He nodded. "Dead."

I half-grinned at him: "Lets go do something."

"I thought we were having this break because we didn't want to do anything."

"Argh!"

"Okay, okay," he gave me a slight smile. It was small, but it was real. "Let's go do something."

* * *

We ended up driving around in Sasuke's navy blue convertible-top Mustang GT. His car is a thing of beauty, really. I can remember drooling over it the first time he showed it to me. Now, I sat in the passenger seat on the clean, cool leather and suddenly felt my ears popping as he fiddled on the driver's console and the top started coming down. The night sky opened up to us, two people on a lonely highway, and the stars suddenly seemed a thousand miles closer. I leaned my head back, my hand flicking briefly to the radio and turning the dial all the way up. His speakers were god-like; they thrummed powerfully as the GT's engine purred deeply, escalating slowly to a hushed roar as we hit fourty five, then fifty, then sixty. These were the kind of things I _lived_ for. I looked over at Sasuke, having half a mind to tell him he should write a song about this, and for a little while I could only stare at him. The rushing wind was blowing his hair back from his eyes and the moon was reflecting off his light skin and the only thing I could manage to think at the time was that he looked like an angel, something totally ethereal. He felt me staring because he glanced over at me, one eyebrow raised as if to ask '_yes?_'. I forced a smile onto my face and turned my head the other way, my eyes falling to the highway scenery whizzing by. And then all the houses and grass fell away to reveal the coastline; I knew we were close to the beach, but until just then I had never realized _how_ close. It shocked me, in a good way. I caught myself thinking again that Sasuke should write something about this. Then I heard the song blasting out of the car's speakers and my mind skipped again (I get easily excited, which leads to getting distracted quite easily too). I loved this song, it was one of my all-time favorites. The band was okay, but I really admired the way they played this particular song of theirs. The drums pounded, the guitars hummed, and the wind howled so loudly that all that was left was me, Sasuke, and the music.

"_Well I can't regret_—" I started to sing along.

"_Could you just forget it?_"

I looked over at Sasuke in shock. _'I started something I couldn't finish.' _"You know this song?"

'_And if we go down, we go down together.' _"It's a good song," he nodded. "And we're talking right through it."

I blinked. _'Best friends means—'_ Then I grinned: "Yeah, sorry."

He smiled back. _'Well, best friends means…'

* * *

_

"_And I've got a twenty dollar bill that says you're up late nights starting—_"

"_Fist fights versus fences, in your backyard._"

"_Wearing your black eye like a badge of honor._"

"_Soaking in sympathy…_"

"_From friends who never loved you—_"

"_Nearly half as much as me._"

* * *

"Where are we?" I looked around as we pulled into the small café's parking lot.

"In the next county, I think," he answered simply and parked, killing the engine. He opened his door and got out so I followed him out of the car and through the small doorway into the smoky darkness of the unknown café. I heard before I could make out the clinking of glasses and the lighting of cigarettes and the low drone of bunches of people having conversations among themselves at small tables. To our left was a bar and to our right, a stage with a pretty sweet set-up on it. I tugged on Sasuke's sleeve.

"Hey, someone's playing!" I pointed. He nodded.

"Do you want to stay and watch? I was just going to get a coke or something," he offered.

"I don't know," I made a face. "No one really good plays gigs at a café in the middle of nowhere…" I watched noncommittally as a lanky, middle-aged guy with a striped button-up shirt and glasses climbed onto the stage and tapped the mike, clearing his throat. The slight feedback in the room made the patrons look up from their own business and toward the stage with half-interested gazes.

He leaned over and spoke quickly into the mike: "The first band for tonight is an entrant for the Battle of the Bands contest, and will be performing the second week of Febuary."

"Whoa, hey! A contestant!" I grabbed at Sasuke's arm excitedly. This was it! We'd finally get to see what we're really up against!

The guy onstage looked to his left and held out an arm to welcome the band members onto the stage. "Please give a round of applause for The Akatsuki."

The response from the crowd was more than expected; they cheered as if it were a real, professional band coming up onstage. I watched the members filing onto the stage and standing in their designated positions behind their instruments. There was a tall, thin guy with long, light hair tied back in a loose tail and wire-rimmed specs who wore a headband and finger-less gloves. He looked fairly old to be in a starting band; he picked up one of the two electric guitars set up onstage. The drummer was almost the exact opposite of the clean-cut guitarist: long, greasy-looking black hair, pale to the point of being white, and narrow, nasty-looking yellow eyes. His tongue darted out from between his teeth (which were filed down to points) briefly as he surveyed the crowd. His tongue was pierced. The keyboardist settled and I finally got a good look at him (after the distraction of the drummer).

"Holy crap!" I nudged Sasuke. "That's Neji!"

"Neji?" Sasuke squinted to get a better look and the final member walked out onstage. He wasn't taller than half the people in the group and he was light-skinned, with a mop of raven black hair that seemed to almost fall into place effortlessly over deep red-amber eyes. I looked at him. Then blinked. And looked at Sasuke. Who wore the expression of someone who has seen a ghost or has been told something horrible and life-changing. The dark-haired man, who was apparently the lead singer as well as the second guitarist, adjusted his strap and the height of the mike stand, then spoke clearly into the tense atmosphere.

"Thank you. We're the band Akatsuki: on drums is Orochimaru Hebi," he gestured behind them. "On keyboards, Hyuuga Neji," he made another gesture. "Lead electric guitar, Yakushi Kabuto." Gesture. "And I'm Uchiha Itachi, vocalist and secondary guitarist. Thank you for coming tonight."

The cheers were loud, I knew it, but they were drowned out by the deafening echo in my head. _Uchiha… Uchiha Itachi?_ I looked slowly to where Sasuke was standing and he turned to me in the same instant. _Uchiha?_ I wanted to ask, but I didn't know if I should. I opened my mouth to say something. Anything. He blinked.

"Naruto… Let's go back to the dorms," he said in a perfectly normal voice. I nodded—what else could I do? We left as the opening chords started up and my god I almost fainted when I heard them.

They were perfect.


	16. I Want You

_**Part 2: Chapter 5**_

The drive back was...quiet. It was one of those uncomfortable silences where you try to think of a million things to say and none of them sound right in your head so you refrain from saying them aloud. The top was down and the radio was blaring but the sky seemed to draw out our discomfort and press it back down on us twofold. I was fidgeting; it's not like I never do, but I was moving pretty noticeably. The scary things is, Sasuke didn't seem to notice. He just kept both his hands on the steering wheel and his eyes fixated on the road, his jaw clenched slightly. The only reason I could tell was because the hollows of his cheeks seemed deeper and more pronounced than usual as the moonlight spilled down on his pale face. He looked dead. Or ready to kill something.

* * *

We parted ways at the entrance to the main stairwell--Sasuke twitched his head toward me as I called a feeble 'good night', and then he was through the cardlock door and walking down the hall to his room. I watched him through the little four by sixteen pane of glass in the door, then I turned and headed up the stairs. My feet dragged on each step and clunked hollowly in the deserted stairwell. It was some ungodly hour of the night, no one was awake. As I reached my door I pulled out my keys and fiddled withthem and the lock, and suddenly, my room phone started ringing shrilly. _Sasuke!_ I nearly rammed the door down in my run to catch the call before the person on the other end decided to give up. Three rings. I darted expertly through the mess and jumble of furniture, nearly knocking the items on my desk to the floor (like it would make _more _of a mess) and snatched up the reciever.

"Hello?" I panted.

"Naruto?" the quiet voice came over the line. "I'm sorry--did I wake you?"

It took me a moment to register that the voice coming out of the speaker was not my boyfriend's: "Haku?"

"Yes, sorry. _Did _I wake you?"

"N-No..." I lowered myself into my purple rolling chair. "You just...surprised me."

"I'm sorry," he apologized again. "But I was calling in reference to--" He paused. I heard some movement on the other end of the phone; a door slammed. "Sasuke," he finished.

"What about him?" I began knotting the phone's long cord in my fingers, leaning one elbow on the desk.

"He seems...distant. I was wondering if maybe you and him had a fight...?"

"No, we just went out for a drive."

"That's odd..." he sounded confused.

"He's got an eight o'clock class in the morning; he's pushing for sleep as it is," I heard Garra murmur. I glanced at my alarm clock: three twenty one a.m.

"Do you have any idea where he could be going this late at night?" Haku addressed me.

"And why the hell he was acting so weird?" Garra again.

"Well, he was really quiet on the drive..." It wasn't a total lie, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to explain about seeing the elder Uchiha and Neji in a band, and the news that they were in the Battle of the Bands competition. I figured it wasn't my story to tell, anyway. Although I'd have to ask Hinata about Neji--I remember her once mentioning that her long-haired cousin had connections in high places, especially among a record label known as Anbu Productions. And suddenly, I wondered what this meant for Sharingan and our upcoming competition. Would Sasuke even be able to perform in front of a huge audience and a potential scout knowing his brother could be somewhere in the crowd, watching him?

"Naruto?"

_Whoops._ "Yeah, I'm here. Sorry, what was that you said?"

"Do you have any idea where he could be going this late at night?" the other man repeated patiently.

I thought for a moment before opening my mouth to answer, but I cut myself off as I heard a single, fleeting knock on my room door. I meant to say "here" before I dropped the phone reciever back into the cradle, but I don't think it happened that way. I rose and made my way to the door, pulling it open. The dark-haired lyricst was turning away and when he heard the door open he stopped andlifted his face to me. I couldn't quite understand the look he was giving me: it was sad and confused and hopeful all in one expression. I silently held open the door and he wordlessly came into the room and I closed the door behind him, watching him cross over and around the mess skillfully and sit himself down on the edge of my bed. I joined him. The silence wasn't as heavy as it had been on the way back, but it was still hard to navigate a conversation. Finally, however, I gave it a shot.

"That guy...the one back at the cafe... He's your brother?" _Duh, Naruto, _I scolded myself. Sasuke humored me with a weak nod. "Did...you know he had a band?"

It took him a moment before answering, and I listened to each word intently, trying to measure exactly how upset he was: "He and Orochimaru have been friends for as far back as I can remember. Kabuto used to drop by every now and again--he was a manager of some sort. But my brother... He'd always talked about starting a band."

_Okay, he's talking. Slowly, baby steps, _I coaxed myself. "Anbu Productions?" Nod. "Neji knows some people there... Maybe he told Kabuto about us, and Kabuto let your brother know...?" Shrug. "Maybe... Maybe he's been looking for you."

I instantly saw his face harden and I flinched inwardly. _Wrong thing to say. _"If he had been looking for me all this time, I'm sure he would have found me by now. Why this way? Why a band?" The last question came out in a mixed shout and whisper. He lapsed into silence after his slight outburst. I tried to think of something else to say, something to take a step backward, and suddenly found myself pinned beneath his weight. He had his knees on either side of my hips and his hands clasped my wrists to the mattress. His mouth was on mine, crushing our lips together fiercely, and I whimpered helplessly in the grip. His tongue plunged boldly, commanding dominance as his body shifted and he sat himself back on my thighs, his hands slipping down my arms and to my waist. His mouth was still on mine, as if he were trying to drown me in the kiss. I was going under too, trust me. The only thing I coherently thought was '_why?_' as his mouth tore from mine with a hurried gasp of breath and rushed down along my neck to the hem of my orange shirt. His hands made their way quickly from my hips, ducking under my shirt briefly before pushing it up to my chin.

"S...Sa...suke..." The orange material was bunched along my upper chest and shoulders and his hands, cold as ice, planted themselves firmly against my stomach. His hair tickled my chin as his head came level with my chest and a scarce breath caressed my skin. Soft lips brushed against one of my nipples and I reeled beneath him, my eyes wide and unseeing. "Sasuke..." The flat of his tongue rolled down my torso to my navel and I gave another shiver as more cold breath touched my damp skin. I felt a slight tug on the button of my khaki shorts and little alarm bells started clambering in my head. My hands somehow found his shoulders. "Sa...suke..." He had gotten the shorts open. I abruptly pushed him up, away from my twitching hips and found his eyes. The shivers of pleasure abruptly ceased--his eyes were two cold, flawless onyx orbs.

"What?" he mumbled and my brain screamed at me to let him continue, dear _god _let him continue. I hung on to the rational part of my mind that remained.

"What... I..." I shook my head to clear it momentarily. "This... Do you actually want to go through with this?" He stared at me blankly, almost coldly. It felt like a bucket of ice water had been thrown on top of us. I was starting to feel nauseous.

"It doesn't matter," he answered finally and I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach. "Nothing matters anymore."

"But...this..." I tried weakly. "This _is_ important..."

"I don't care anymore," he said flatly. His head came down and I pushed up against his shoulders, continuing to keep him at a distance. A strange feeling of hurt and anger began to rise up in my chest, but I didn't want to cry. I wanted to...

"Sasuke, we can't just--"

"Don't you want this?" he looked annoyed now. "Don't you want me?"

My body screamed along with most of my brain: _YES! _I gulped hard and looked at him as sternly as I could manage. "That's not the point."

"I'm just going to give you what you want," he reasoned, forcing me back down with his own hands on my shoulders now. "Maybe that way, I can forget everything."

I don't quite know what part of that sentence set me off, but I was suddenly furious, enraged. I sat up abruptly, knocking him off balance, drew back my right fist, and punched Sasuke full in the face.

With a cry, he toppled off the bed and onto the floor, clasping his hands to his face. "_FUCK!_" he screamed into his hands. "Oh FUCK! That _HURT_, Naruto! What the _fuck_ was that for?" I couldn't answer him. I just stared straight ahead, fist still out, eyes bulging out of my skull. With a moan, Sasuke stumbled to his feet and out of the corner of my eye I saw a spill of dark blood hit the floor. My body relaxed suddenly and I slumped on the mattress; all the anger and pain was suddenly replaced with a sick apprehension.

"I..." I tried to choke out.

"Screw you, Naruto," he said thickly through a bleeding nose. "Screw you and screw the band--I'm out."

And he stumbled over to the door, yanked it open, and nearly fell outside. I stared helplessly at the door sitting open awkwardly. My eyes moved mechanically to the small pool of blood on the floor by my bed. And finally, I started to cry.


	17. I'm Not Okay

**Notes: **I know, the story's progressing weirdly. Sorry for all the angstyness! I promise, it'll get a LOT better _very_ soon! Thank you for the reviews and keeping up wit my weirdness!

* * *

_**Part 2: Chapter 6**_

_I grew up in a church that doubled as an orphanage. I was they typical problem child: picking fights, skipping school, never listening to a word anyone said. And when I was thirteen I told the sisters that I wanted to quit school and start a rock and roll band. That's when they told me about the night I arrived at the church. A tall man with blond hair (exactly like mine, I was told) had come to them one night during a storm, a sleeping baby in his arms. He had explained that his wife had died during childbirth, and living on the streets without a job, he couldn't take care of this newborn boy. He gave the baby to the head nun and turned away, leaving his only child without so much as a glance back. Even now, I don't blame my father for what he did. In fact, I'm grateful. He gave me to people who would care for me and take care of me like he could not. And after I heard that, I vowed that I wouldn't let his decision be in vain. I kept at school, I studied harder than ever before, and that's how I got here. But I still kept my initial ambition of starting up a band._

_Music has always been a passion I've had. I like to imagine I got that from my parents. Music's helped me through years of life's ugly twists and turns, things that came up daily and other things that built up over time. Through teasing, ridicule, and loneliness; through a wave of depression that almost made me commit an act of sin so horrible, if the sisters would have known, I wouldn't have had to slit my wrists to accomplish my goal. I'm indebted to music and everything it's done for me. At age seventeen, I was definitely serious about starting up a band of my own. But the place I lived was so toneless and colorless and dull. I had to get out and do it myself, and the only way to get out was to get a scholarship to college. So, I tripled my study habits. It's basically one of those 'bad-kid-turns-good' stories you always hear about, but it wasn't just a story, it was my life. And I wanted to live it out to the fullest, for my mother, for my father, and for myself and the people who raised me._

_And now, for Sasuke._

Sasuke…_ I wonder where he is and what he's doing now? Since we first met all those months back, this is the longest I've ever been away from him. It hurts, you know? Him not being here. Usually we'd be sitting together in those long, pleasant silences that you just felt like you didn't need to talk, it was already perfect enough, and he would be writing and I would be working out melodies in my head or on paper, sometimes on my guitar. And occasionally we would simply look up, into each other's eyes, and smile, then continue with what we were doing. I loved looking into Sasuke's eyes; they're really gorgeous--you think they're black until you're just inches away from him and you finally see that there are swirls and flecks of dark amber honey, the most amazing color in the world. I could go on about his eyes for hours, but there are other things I miss too: his short, neat, blue-black hair that he unconsciously fixes almost every five minutes; his soothing, tranquil presence that always seems to calm me down, bring me back to earth; his lips that I sometimes catch in the beginnings of a gentle curve of a smile. I love it when he smiles--I don't think he's used to it yet. That's okay, I'll make him get used to it. _You need to smile more, Sasuke…

_Sasuke is a lot like me, only instead of growing up in an orphanage all his life, he lived with his mother and father and older brother for the first eight years of his life. When his parents were killed in a car crash one December, his brother Itachi put him into a public orphanage and left him there. Sasuke hasn't seen his brother for more than ten years. I imagine at the orphanage he tried to be the resident wallflower: reclusive, introverted, the one that was invisible on what they call 'visitation day' (I don't know, that's what I've heard; the church never had such a thing). But as much as I _know_ that's the way he is, I can never _imagine_ anyone ignoring Uchiha Sasuke. His looks, even when he was younger, would have drawn anyone to him immediately. He never mentioned ever being adopted though, and I guess that's because he didn't want to be. What I _can_ imagine is a little Sasuke watching the prospective foster families be led in and then run to a secluded hiding place. Heh.

* * *

_

I didn't hear them approach, but someone dropped their tray onto the table in front of me and it snapped me out of my thoughts, Kiba plopped down in the chair opposite mine and pointed his fork at me.

"Why do you look so incredibly happy?" he asked sarcastically. I heard the chair on my right scrape back and I glanced over to see Hinata sitting down carefully.

"Hey," I mumbled.

"Hi, Naruto," she smiled softly and it calmed me down a little bit.

"So, again, why the happy face?" Kiba jabbed the fork at me again and then stuck it into the brown substance that was supposed to be meatloaf. "Get in a fight with lover boy?"

I twitched: "Yeah, kind of."

"Oh no!" Hinata looked shocked. "I'm sorry to hear that, Naruto."

"Why?" I lay my forehead against the tabletop. "It's not _your _fault."

"Gay," Kiba snorted, leaning back in his chair. "You probably just did something stupid to piss him off."

"K-Kiba!"

"Not exactly my fault either," I mumbled.

"Naruto?" I grimaced as I heard Haku slide into the last available chair at the table.

Sighing, I resigned myself to getting the topic out of the way: "How's Sasuke?"

"Well, his nose isn't broken, but he's still sporting quite the bruise--"

"You _punched _him?" Kiba exclaimed.

"Yeah," I grumbled into the tabletop.

"Oh dear," Hinata sounded worried now. "Why did you hit him?"

"…he was being an ass," I answered her after a slight pause to think of something justifiable to say and coming up with nothing.

"He's still going to classes and such," Haku offered, picking at his dinner plate, "but he doesn't come back until late, and goes straight to bed. Garra's become a little…concerned about his behavior, and has started trying to find out what exactly what happened the night you two had that fight." I felt his eyes on me. "Unless…"

I sighed inwardly. _Unless I'd care to explain what happened. _I licked my lips and lifted my head to look around at them. "It's not my place to tell."

"Well at least tell us if we still have a lyricist after that: Kiba grunted and I shook my head.

"He quit," I mumbled.

"He_ WHAT!_" Kiba threw his hands up and leaned back against his chair.

"He told us similarly," Haku nodded, confirming my statement. "In fact, it was one of only three things Sasuke's said to either Garra or myself for several days now."

"Haku," I looked over at him. "Did he…?"

He gave me a sympathetic glance: "The conversation was simple: 'What happened to your face?', '_Naruto punched me_', 'Are you okay?', '_I quit Sharingan_', 'Why?', '_I'm going to bed_'."

I made a face and lowered my head to the tablecloth again, biting my tongue hard to keep myself from bursting out into fresh tears. I couldn't cry now, in front of all these people…

"So, what's going to happen now?" Kiba grunted. "What's going to happen to Sharingan? And the Battle of the Bands contest?"

"I'm not sure if we can still perform…" I heard Haku answer him, and I also heard an unspoken addition to the statement hanging in the air: _'If we want to.' _And truthfully, for the first time in a while, I didn't know anymore. It was like my love for music was being pushed aside after all these years of being my one passion. Sasuke was firmly taking priority in my life.

"We're not Sharingan without Sasuke," I spoke up.

"I agree with Naruto," Hinata finally said and I could have kissed her if I didn't want to die. "Sasuke was more than just our writer and singer."

"He's family," I sat up slowly. "And if he has a problem, I have one too."

"You always have problems," Kiba sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Right, so then, what are we going to do about this problem?"

"…Get to the bottom of it?" Haku suggested.

* * *

We walked out of the dining hall. I briefly considered following Haku to his room, but the thought of confronting Sasuke after what I'd done made me sick to my stomach, so I opted to pass on that. There was a small group of people in the rotunda, huddling in a circle. A man's shouting voice was echoing through the grand hall. Hinata's head perked up. 

"That sounds like Neji…" she looked confused. With her words I looked into the crowd and sure enough, I saw the long-haired man shouting and cursing as he tumbled around on the tile floor with someone wearing a combination of navy blue and khaki. My stomach lurched: _Sasuke!_

Kiba and I ran forward, leaving Haku with Hinata and darting into the crowd. Since I was smaller, I got their first. I dove into the tussle, feeling the anger and hatred in that concentrated space as I pushed the two of them apart and ended up grasping Sasuke's tense arms and pushing him back, away from Neji.

"What are you doing?" I panted, the scuffle leaving me out of breath.

"Let go of me," he hissed icily and I flinched but held on tight, continuing to push him out of the circle of spectators.

"Neji, no!" I heard Kiba trying to push past the blockade of people, and I knew the other man was behind me, ready to attack my open back. I closed my eyes and suddenly felt myself turning to one side. I stumbled and looked up in shock as Sasuke shifted his weight as I still held his arms, lifted one leg, and knocked Neji back with a firm kick to the chest. The sudden, flawless strength surprised me and (I know it wasn't exactly the right time) excited me. Neji fell back and the people jumped out of the way. He lay back on the tile groaning, and while I stood there, stunned, Sasuke shook himself free of my grip and turned away from the fight, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Watch how you talk, Neji," he spoke softly, but I knew what his face looked like without having to see it--he was pissed. "Not everyone will bend to your will."

Neji stood and spat at Sasuke's back. "And you think you're so high and mighty that everyone will just listen to what you have to say? Itachi never said why he gave you up, but if you were like this back then, it's pretty damn obvious why he did!" I sucked in a sharp breath at his words. A few other people felt the slap of the insult and joined me in my surprised gasp. _Neji, you…you _dick_! I could…_

Hinata was inside the circle of people; she had gotten away from Haku. I watched her fumbling for someone, and Neji stepped forward, letting her hand touch his chest. She felt the fabric of his shirt, then brushed her fingers up along his torso and along his neck, up to his face. She felt his features with a look of hard concentration on her face. He had a look of something like apprehension and helplessness in his oddly-colored eyes.

"Neji?" she asked.

"Hinata…" he confirmed his identity. Her face flushed; her cheeks were two patches of harsh flame.

_**WHACK!**_

Neji stumbled back, a hand on his assaulted cheek as he gaped at her. She stood in the center of the crowd, who were all wearing similar looks to Neji's, her shoulders rigid and her body still angled with the force of her slap.

"How _dare_ you speak to someone like that! To Sasuke!" she cried, her white eyes flashing dangerously. "I don't ever want you here again, after what you've done to all of my friends: _especially_ him and Kiba!" Neji looked like he was about to cry. Still clasping his injured cheek, he pushed through the crowd and stormed out of the school. As if a spell had been broken, the spectators fled as well--they scattered like a flock of startled animals. I suddenly blinked and turned to where Sasuke had been. He was leaving as well, only he was walking slowly, as if taking measured steps. I ran after him, and caught his arm just as he was going to descend the small staircase to the Breezeway.

"Sasuke!" He stopped. "Are you really…? Is it…?"

"I said it was over, Naruto," he looked over his shoulder at me, and those beautiful eyes, the ones that sometimes looked at me and made the world disappear, glared at me coldly like two chips of the blackest onyx. "I'm done with Sharingan, and what we had is over."

"Why?" I yelped. "I don't understand!"

He shook free of my grip and started for the Breezeway again. "Now that I've found him, I can finally get some answers," he said so quietly, I barely heard his words. Then he was gone, and I was left on the landing, staring after him.

"Sasuke!" I yelled. "_Sasuke, come BACK!_" He ignored me. I clenched my jaw and wiped a hand furiously over my stinging eyes. I felt a hand on my back and glanced back at who was there. Hinata's face was lined with worry and understanding. I turned to her and silently wrapped her in a tight hug. "I don't understand," I sobbed into her shoulder, shaking my head. "Why is he doing this?"

She stroked a hand softly through my hair. "Maybe…if you explain it aloud to us…you'll understand."

_Sasuke…_ I heard Kiba and Haku rounding the corner. I cried harder against Hinata._ I can't understand you if you don't let me!_


	18. Sasuke's Song

_**Part 2: Chapter 7**_

Ino finally rushed in, looking disheveled.

"Class, sorry!" she plopped down into an armchair beside Sakura, who placed a hand on the blonde's arm but kept her eyes on me.

"What exactly is this 'emergency meeting' about, Naruto?" she asked me.

"I heard Sasuke quit," Shino spoke up.

"If that's why we were called here, we all know, so, why bother?" Shikamaru grunted lazily from beside him.

Ino made a face: "But why did he leave?"

"It was probably too troublesome," the man lounging on the huge couch glanced at her, then returned to his normal posture--hands behind his head, leaning back, eyes closed.

"Naruto has called this meeting to explain _why _Sasuke left," Hinata clarified.

"I don't care about _why_ he left," Kiba snorted, "I just wanna know what we're going to _do_ about it."

"Well, I care," Garra spoke up. "It was a very sudden decision, and it bothers me." He sat next to Haku, one pale hand on the other's neatly-pressed black slacks. Haku smiled at me and gestured with one hand.

"Please, Naruto," he said. "Explain." I laced my fingers together and leaned forward, my elbows on my knees, clearing my throat slightly. Everyone was paying attention (even Shikamaru, from what I could tell).

"You need to know a little about Sasuke's past before you can really understand why he left," I picked my words carefully. "First being, he spent half of his life growing up in an orphanage."

"Sasuke, in an orphanage?" Ino blinked, obviously shocked. "But he's so...normal."

"Orphanages don't make one mentally unstable," Garra looked over at her dryly.

"He lived in a public orphanage from age eight onward--after his parents were killed in a car crash," I continued.

"I still don't understand what this has do with him quitting," Kiba lifted an eyebrow.

"Sasuke had an older brother named Itachi," I looked up at him. "Itachi is the one who gave Sasuke up to the orphanage." Hearing it come out of my mouth, I could see why Sasuke had been shaken up when we had seen Itachi and his band at the cafe. Over ten years without a word and suddenly _bam _there he is again. But then, I couldn't really understand, could I? He had been part of a family at one time. "The night we cancelled that one practice," I spoke and my voice cracked. I swallowed, then continued in a much more normal-sounding voice. "We went on a drive down the coastal highway just outside of town, and wound up at a little cafe. We went inside for a drink, and found out they had a live band playing." I looked down at my hands. "The band was going to be in the Battle of the Bands competition that week."

"You saw our competition?" Shino looked surprised.

" How good were they?" Kiba asked eagerly. I paused, closing my eyes and calling up the four faces that had come out from the shadows and into the stage lights: Kabuto, the silver-haired guitarist; Orochimaru, scary-looking drummer; Neji, fucking bastard of a keyboardist; Itachi, exact replica of Sasuke with a guitar.

"They were an odd bunch of older guys," I grimaced. "A guy who looked more like a manager than a guitarist, a drummer that looked like he escaped from the freak show of a local circus, Neji--"

"_WHAT?_" everyone cut me off. I winced at the sound, but continued anyway.

"And Itachi, Sasuke's older brother."

The silence that came after that statement was louder than the previous outburst, I thought. Finally...

"He doesn't want to face his brother after all this time?" Garra offered.

"I wouldn't," Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Too much trouble."

"It can't be all that," Kiba wrinkled his nose. "There's got to be something you're not telling us, Naruto!"

"We drove home, he quit, I punched him, we haven't talked since," I completed with a frown. _It didn't _quite_ happen in that order..._

"You _punched _him?" Sakura yelped.

"That's what I said," Kiba shook his head.

"I would have punched him too, if that makes you feel any better about it," Shino gave me a sympathetic look from behind his sunglasses.

"But," Hinata spoke up, stroking Ciaran's head fondly as she nibbled on her bottom lip, "as much as we know, it still doesn't _quite_ explain why he quit. There's got to be another reason..."

"It is confusing," Haku agreed, nodding. "He rarely comes in earlier than midnight anymore, I haven't seen him eat, and I know he isn't writing."

"Speaking of, we only have two presentable songs for the competition," Kiba looked over at me. "If we're even going now, that is."

"I don't know," I mumbled. A sudden harsh slap on the table we were huddled around made me jump and look up from my spinning thoughts. Sakura had stood and was leaning forward with her arms locked and her hands flat against the table's surface, glaring teal daggers at me.

"You once told me that you and Sasuke were in this for the long-run! That Sharingan was your life, and we were going to go all-out all the time!" she leaned closer. "I believed you. What happened to you, Naruto?"

I looked away from her, suddenly feeling ashamed. "I..."

"Sasuke is important to _all _of us," she grabbed onto that unspoken doubt. "But we have to do this for _him_, just like we helped Kiba tell Hinata how he felt. We have to let him know how _we_ feel." She paused, now looking thoughtful. "How _you _feel." I finally lifted my eyes to her, and this time, she was smiling. A small, quivering smile, but a smile nonetheless. "You're the only one that he truly loves," she lowered her voice. "You _have _to lead us in Battle of the Bands, so he can follow you there. And when he does, maybe we can convince him to come back to us." I opened my mouth. Closed it. I let my eyes travel from her face, to Ino's, Hinata's, and slowly around at the rest of the group--I looked into the eyes of all of my friends. They were all smiling.

I gave back the truest smile I could manage: "Alright, we'll go. I'll write the last song."

The group broke out into cheers and applause. All except for Shikamaru, who hunched lower in his seat and muttered something about it suddenly being too loud to sleep.

* * *

Saying you're going to do something and actually going through with it are two different things; it's a lot easier just to say you can do this or that. I looked down at the blank paper and then back up to the empty room. Nothing came. I sighed and there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I put the notebook down. Garra entered, looking as if he really would have preferred to be somewhere else at the moment. I lifted an eyebrow at him as he came over to the bed and didn't sit down, but just kind of stood there looking like he had something to say. After almost a minute of this strange behavior, he pulled something from his back pocket, tossed it to me, and started for the door. I blinked and watched him as he left.

"Haku wanted to see how you were," he called over his shoulder on the way out. "And I wanted to give that to you anyway. Later."

I looked at the door for the longest time, just wondering what the hell that was all about. I finally remembered the thing he had tossed at me; it was a folded-up piece of paper. I picked it up and undid it, staring at the familiar off-white paper with blue-ink writing on it. Sasuke's handwriting. Up in the top right-hand corner, scrawled within brackets, was the title of the song: _'Untitled--Naruto's Song (Heaven?)'_

After staring at the notebook paper for what felt like hours, I slowly put it aside and reached for my own blank notebook paper and pen. Without hesitation, I began to write; it wasn't a masterpiece, but it got the point across. That's all that matters, right?

* * *

_Kiss me, kiss my eyes_

_Tell me everything's alright._

_Kiss me, kiss my lips_

_Promise that you'll be here tonight._

_But I guess not_

_That's okay._

_You're gone, and now_

_It's not the same._

_Still I just wish_

_You'd let me know_

_Instead of me_

_Waiting here alone._

_And now you've gone and left me here_

_With nothing to hope for and nothing to fear._

_Kill me, kill me quickly_

_Don't leave me here this way._

_Kill me, kill my heart_

_So it doesn't cry for you again._

_I won't beg you_

_To come back to me._

_I'll stay and wait_

_For you patiently._

_And I'll be here_

_When you come around._

_And take you back_

_Into my arms._

_You've got to know that I won't let you_

_Throw everything aside and go._

_Just so you know_

_I love you._

_Just so you know_

_I need you too;_

_Please tell me why_

_You ran away_

_And let me stay_

_Beside you now._

_I don't care what the past has done_

_All that matters is the future with you._

_So kiss me, kill me_

_And let me_

_Die in your arms._

_When you're scared and when you're lonely_

_I'll be the one there to dry your tears._

_Kiss me, kill me_

_Tonight._

_Kiss me, kill me_

_Always._

_Kiss me, kill me_

_Again._

_Kiss me, kill me_

_Forever. --Uzimaki Naruto, February 3, 2006_


	19. In Undertones

**Notes: **Thank you all for the reviews! To my new readers, I'm glad you like it! To my old ones, sorry this is taking so long! The Battle of the Bands competition is just around the corner, and I've got some new lyrics for you guys too. :D Plus, that M-rating. Mmmyep! You'll see why veeeeeery soon! ;p

* * *

_**Part 2: Chapter 8**_

For two weeks we'd practiced the new song. Haku had actually written a decent melody in one night—how was that for skilled? We had to tweak it a few times, and some of the instrument breaks had to be switched around. Plus, Sakura and I had to write up our own tabs this time, but overall, it was coming out okay. With each practice, the time to prove ourselves drew closer. One week from our scheduled time to perform, the equipment arrived and was starting to be set up; I passed it at least once a day: a huge table for judges and check in, and a makeshift metal contraption that would be the performing stage set up in the center of the West Lawn, flanked by two huge black mountains (that were actually big, huge speakers) and crossed overhead by a lighting catwalk that looked so narrow that _no_ cat would have been able to walk across without falling off. It was, overall, a little daunting.

That night was one of our last practices before our actual performance—we would run through the new song twice and the others once, see if we heard anything we didn't like, fix it, and move on. I was neglecting my homework now, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one (pretty sure about the guys anyway; the girls—along with Haku—seemed to have this innate ability to uber-multitask). I had to learn two more sets of lyrics; "For You" and our closing song, "Drive You Crazy"—one Sasuke wrote in a sudden inspiration to mix the hook he'd had stuck in his head since Christmas and the very first song he'd ever let me read out of his book. It, in my opinion, had come out so badass. It was Sasuke's trademark emo song: the tempo changed so rapidly it was almost bi-polar (and so was my boyfriend, as of late).

I was in the student lounge, sitting on the big couch Sasuke and I had shared on the day all those months ago when we held rehearsals for our new band. My guitar was in my lap and I was plucking out the notes idly as I read one of the three sets of lyrics, two of them Sasuke's masterpieces, one of them my own heart scrawled out on paper. Is this how he felt each time he wrote a song? Presenting his heart to a bunch of strangers? No wonder he never really talked; it was all in his notebooks—the happiness, the sorrow, the pain, the anger. I fiddled with the chords so I could get the general beat in my head as I softly murmured the words aloud to myself. The door to the lounge opened but I didn't look up—people sometimes came and watched us rehearse, it was cool. The newcomer sat next to me on the couch and I lifted one hand in absent-minded greeting as I skimmed over the chorus of "For You". I think I said hi, can't remember.

"I saw the competition in the province over a few days back."

I froze. _That voice! It couldn't…It's…_ My heart was suddenly in my throat, pounding hard. I wanted to look up—I physically _couldn't_ look up. It was someone playing games with me, or my mind finally cracking under the strain, yeah, that was it. Slowly, I met Sasuke's eyes.

"Akatsuki was really good," he said slowly, as if weighing his words. "But they need a better lyricist." I wanted to say so many different things: I wanted to cry and scream and throw my arms around him; I wanted to kiss him; I wanted to hit him; I wanted to ignore him; I wanted to hold him so close, so unbelievably close, and inhale the scent that I'd been missing for so long.

None of that happened, though. I managed to gulp my heart back down: "Style but no substance?" I managed to choke out normally enough.

He gave me a weak smile. "Yeah, something like that." There was a long pause—it wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't exactly welcoming either. It was just…there. "I'm sorry," he finally said, looking embarrassed. "For the way I've been acting. I just…" He shook his head. I straightened, lowering the guitar to the small gap between us on the couch and folding up the three sheets of lyrics.

"I should apologize," I started softly. "It wasn't my place to pry…and I punched you. Sorry about that as well."

He flashed me a half-grin and my nerves quickly subsided. I watched him touch the bridge of his nose self-consciously. "Yeah, you did. But I think I deserved it."

"Nah," I made a face. "You were flipping out about…you know, your brother."

"You told the others, didn't you?" he asked and I flinched. "Haku and Garra have stopped trying to get it out of me, and I know they'd have kept trying until hell froze over—"

"I know it wasn't my place," I spoke up before meeting his eyes. "But everyone was really worried and confused, especially me, and I thought that if I told the others…" I shrugged and met his gaze. He wasn't glaring, which surprised me, he was looking apologetic. Even after all this time, I could read Sasuke's face like a book.

"I know I was acting a little crazy," he admitted sheepishly.

"A little?" I tried to grin. He looked me over once, then gave a small shrug as if to say '_Okay, maybe not a _little_…_'

"I'm sorry for that too," he finished. I shook my head. We looked at each other; the silence wasn't quite right yet, but it was a vast improvement.

"So…are you coming back?" I left that one an open-ended question. He knew it too, and stared into my eyes as if he could find the answer there. I shuddered; I still couldn't make out the undertones in his eyes.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "My brother's still…"

"Did you get the chance to talk to him?"

"No… I lost him in the crowd after the show." He scowled a bit. "They won."

I took a deep breath. _Still a sensitive subject. Okay then… _"Will you at least watch us perform?" I asked.

He blinked at me: "Am I allowed?"

"Of course, you idiot," I rolled my eyes.

"What's the third song?"

"Hm?"

"Each band has to perform three songs. I only gave you two. What's the third song?"

I grinned fully and stood up, picking up my guitar by the neck and tucking the lyrics into my back pocket. "If you come, you'll find out," I said.

"What if I don't come? Will you tell me?" he stood as well.

"Nope," I answered, heading toward the set-up in the back of the lounge. I felt his eyes lingering on my back and I closed my eyes briefly. I missed feeling his stare on me; how weird did that sound? The silence was still lingering in an uncomfortable limbo between normal and strained. "Hey, Sasuke?"

"Nn?" he responded.

"Mind if I say something about Itachi?" He didn't answer, but I didn't hear him leave, so I drew in a deep breath and turned to face him again. "Did you ever think that maybe he put you in the orphanage because that was the _best_ thing to do? I'm not saying it was _right_, and I'm not sticking up for him or anything, but did you ever think about that? That he did it for you?"

I saw it click in his eyes, and almost like an evil spell had been cleansed from his body, like in fairy tales, his eyes changed from the deepest, darkest black, to a soft amber-honey hue. The undertones—I had my answers, he had his hope, and whatever happened from now on, we'd both be satisfied.

He started toward the door: "Break a leg, _dobe_," he pulled it open. "…and thanks." He was gone. But this time, for some reason, I wasn't worried or afraid. _He'll be back._ I started to hook myself up to the system. Twenty minutes after that, the other band members started to arrive along with a few spectators, more so that usual. And as everyone greeted everyone else and got ready to practice till the early morning hours, I found myself recalling the chorus from that song that Sasuke had known when I thought I was the only one who did:

"_Broken down in bars and bathrooms; all I did was what I had to. Don't believe me, when I tell you—"_

"_It's just what anyone would do."_

"_Take the time to talk about it; think a lot and live without it. Don't believe me, when I tell you—"_

"_It's something unforgiveable."

* * *

_

This practice was the best one we'd had since Sasuke had quit Sharingan.


	20. Battle of the Bands

**Notes: **To quickly answer a review, yes, some of these situations I take from experiences that have happened to me. I actually tried to start a band up, with no success. Anyway, I'm glad you all like the lyrics:) And finally, what you've all been waiting for! The Battle of the Bands competition! Woo!

* * *

_**Part 2: Chapter 9**_

I woke up early; what else do you expect when you go to sleep the night before knowing that today is the first day of the rest of your life? Kakashi, from Kinjutsu Records, was going to be watching the performance tonight, and the band was minus a lyrist and lead singer. Needless to say, I was feeling a little stressed. I didn't eat breakfast (I'm sure I wasn't the only one) and I skipped all of my classes for the day (probably not alone on that one either). Early in the afternoon, Haku gave me a call.

"We're registered," he spoke over the line, and I heard the final rendition of Sasuke's song playing in the background—it was like a scene out of a bad movie. "Although, I had to explain that we…had complications."

_That Sasuke left the band,_ I finished the real sentence in my head. "When do we go?"

"We're the third band of the day; the contest begins at six, we start setting up at seven."

"Let everyone else know, please."

"Naruto?"

I had almost dropped the phone back onto the cradle; I fumbled with it: "Yeah?"

"Do you think your plan will work?" he asked.

"…yeah, I think it will," I replied and hung up successfully this time. And I hadn't been lying—I was almost a hundred percent sure the song would convince Sasuke to come back, at least for the rest of the competition. After that… Well, it was up to him, wasn't it?

* * *

I convinced myself to go down to the dining hall at five thirty to see if there was anything I could manage to choke down. As soon as I walked in, there was Sharingan: Sakura waved me over cheerfully; Kiba looked over and said something, and Hinata turned her face toward the entrance expectantly; Haku smiled at me as Garra nodded his head and Ino flashed a thumbs up; Shino adjusted his glasses as he turned to see me enter; Shikamaru lifted one hand slightly in a half-assed wave. I grinned and walked over to their table, the idea of food completely forgotten. 

"Nothing good here anyway," Kiba spoke up as I got closer.

"You could take a step back from the norm and eat a banana or something," Garra raised an eyebrow. Hinata giggled.

"You ready?" Ino tugged on the end of her blond ponytail, looking slightly nervous.

"Yeah," I shrugged simply.

"We set up at seven," Shino reminded. "Fifteen minutes to get the equipment set up, and fifteen minutes to perform the three songs."

"You _do_ have them memorized, don't you?" Shikamaru opened one eye to glance at me.

"Naruto, are you _sure_ you're ready?" Sakura pressed and I looked to her. She had a worried expression drawn on her face. I gave her the most reassuring smile I could muster up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm ready," I nodded.

"Good, because it's almost six o'clock," Garra pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. Haku followed his lead, and eventually, everyone got up and gathered around me. I smiled again. _I don't deserve friends like these… _We headed out of the dining hall and down to the West Lawn where the Battle of the Bands competition was finally starting.

* * *

I don't know exactly what I was expecting. But the first band was okay—two keyboardists, a guitarist, and a singer. They had a techno-ish sound to them. The second band totally sucked—two guitarists and a drummer, and none of them knew how to sing. At one point, I wanted to chase them offstage with a sharp stick, I really did. As they closed their set, I felt a hand tugging on my sleeve. It was Sakura, and she pointed through the crowd at the others who were already heading back toward the student lounge to get our things. I slipped through the mass of people with her and joined the others in the Breezeway Common Room. They were gathering up microphones and stands and amps; Kiba, Shino, and Shikamaru were carrying Kiba's drumset out a piece at a time. Everyone looked as if they were going out to face the firing squad, even Haku, who is usually the calm and composed one. _No, that's Sasuke._ I grabbed my guitar and pick and hoisted up my amp with my other hand and heard a clatter. Placing the equipment back on the floor, I knelt and picked up the black leather strap that had been lying neatly folded beside the amp. It was a guitar strap, and the shoulder pad had two symbols embroidered on it: an _uchiha _and an _uzumaki_—a paper fan and a spiral. The fan lay neatly in the center of the spiral, and the edges of the spiral hugged the fan. Someone came into the lounge, and I whirled around expectantly. Haku and Garra stood in the doorway, looking at my expression carefully; it must have been comical under the circumstances. 

"Are you…alright, Naruto?" Haku finally broke the tense silence that had started to arise. I shook my head, snapping my thoughts back into perspective: _You can tell him on the stage; keep it together!_

"Yeah," I cleared my throat, pointing back at my amp and a few other miscellaneous items littering the floor. "Make sure these go out too. I'll be there in a sec." Haku looked reluctant to leave me alone, but Garra strode forward and hefted up the amp in one hand, glancing down at me briefly before walking past and gathering one of Kiba's drum cymbals and his foot pedal.

"Hurry up, the set-up time is almost over," he said and left the room. Haku hurriedly grabbed the remaining mike stand and rushed out after him, throwing me another worried look over his shoulder. I sat cross-legged on the lounge floor and slowly began to attach the beautiful guitar strap to the neck and body of my instrument.

* * *

The crowd murmured, the sound mixed with the hot stage lights sounding like an eager buzzing in my ears. I felt Sharingan's eyes on me without having to turn around to look. I grinned and grabbed the mike, switching it on and watching as the slight feedback sent a ripple of silence over the crowd. _Not for long._ "How's everybody doing tonight?" Enthusiastic cheers and applause met my question. "A lot of you might remember us from our live rehearsal near the end of last semester on campus—" Whistles and cheers; they remembered. My grin got wider, if that were physically possible. "We're the band Sharingan, short one member right now." A murmur ran through the crowd. "He's been an idiot recently." Laughter. "Let's see if we can convince him to come back with this fist song, huh?" Loud whoops and screams answered my last statement. I adjusted the guitar and my new strap comfortably, taking a moment to spot Ino, Shikamaru, and Shino in the crowd. They were waving their arms and cheering and grinning as much as I was (yes, even Shikamaru). Hinata stood by Kiba, slightly behind me; I glanced back—her mike was on. _Good, someone was on top of things._ Kiba lifted his neon-green taped drumsticks and I nodded, glancing back at Sakura—who was standing at the ready, her pick hovering over the chords—and Garra—standing behind his keyboard synthesizer with his fingers splayed over dials and buttons. I raised my arm. 

_**Chaka-dah-dun! Dah dada! Dah-dun!**_

"_Kiss me, kiss my eyes; tell me everything's alright. Kiss me, kiss my lips; promise that you'll be here, tonight._" 

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_But I—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_Guess not—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_That's okay._"

"_You've gone—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_And now—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_It's not the same. Still I—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_Just wish—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_You'd let me know._"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_Instead—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_Of me—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_Waiting here alone…_"

* * *

After the chorus and another verse, I had a solo. So I left the last few lines to Hinata as I mentally prepared myself (you need to do that when you've got a solo; especially if you're the singer too) for my big scene. "_You've got to know that I won't let you…Throw everything aside and go!_" 

Her voice was excellent. I threw myself forward, physically into the solo, my feet braced on the stage and my pick slammed down on the silver strings: **_Cha-kaaa!_** I closed my eyes. I didn't need to see what I was doing, I had been practicing day and night for two weeks straight. This song was meant to impress (mainly Sasuke)—that meant lyrics and music spoke together what I had not been able to say recently: _I'm sorry your life turned out this way. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you like I wanted to be. I love you, Sasuke. _My guitar wailed, the vibrations thrummed through my body; I heard it as if I was listening from far away, underwater. I was alone, heating up under the brilliant stage lights, my hands flying over the strings faster than they ever had before. In my mind, I was looking for Sasuke, searching for him in the crowd without my eyes. _This is _your _song. _I fell into the final strands of the solo. _Come on, where are you?_ The moment was over. I opened my eyes, and they instantly fell on a navy blue and black-clad figure just beyond the reach of the stage lights. There was cheering; I didn't care. That person was looking at me, and only me. I smiled.

* * *

"_Just so—_" 

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_You know—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_I love you. Just so—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_You know—_"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_I need you too…_"

* * *

His eyes held mine as the words—my heart—came pouring out of my mouth and from my guitar. I was singing, I was playing, _to _him. _For _him. And with a finality that was so sudden I reeled slightly, I had one realization: _Music and Sasuke. That is my life _should _be.

* * *

_

_**Ba-dun-dun!**_

"_So kiss me, kill me, and let me…_"

"_Die in your arms._"

* * *

That was it. I wanted to play my acoustic guitar in the band Sharingan, and I wanted to share everything it brought me with the person I'd fallen in love with. _Sasuke…do you understand? Do you know what I'm saying? I'm speaking to you in undertones, hoping you'll hear it, finally.

* * *

_

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_Kiss me, kill me, tonight._"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_Kiss me, kill me, always._"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_Kiss me, kill me, tonight._"

_**Dun-dun!**_

"_Kiss me, kill me, forever._"

Hinata's echoing voice faded out. The music dwindled with it to a close. The crowd jumped up in one huge wave and screamed its collective head off. I kept my eyes on the black-haired man. He was staring right back, and slowly, he started to come forward. He wove in and out of jumping, shrieking people calmly, hands resting in his pockets. I saw the beginnings of a smile on his pale lips, and I couldn't help but break out into a full one as he ascended the metal steps and arrived onstage. The response was deafening. I grabbed the mike out of its stand and held it out to him. He looked at it, then out at the crowd. His head turned to look at his fellow bandmates. Finally, his eyes were on me.

"You're late," I said.

"I know," he took the mike. "I'll take it from here." He held the microphone up to his mouth and the shouting instantly died out. "I'm gone for two weeks," he gestured back at us, "and come back to this." He grinned slightly. "I'll show you some real lyrics." The crowd screamed, enthusiasm fresh. Sakura squealed happily from her position (next to me, now; Hinata was to my direct left). Sasuke held up a hand. Kiba obediently held up his drumsticks and clicked them together.

_**Tak-tak-tak-tak!**_

Sakura strummed her electric Cobra. I let her go on for two bars, then softly began to add the backbeat. I heard Garra's synthesizer amplify the beat and add the faint edges of the _shakuhachi_ that Sasuke had played specifically for this song. The pulsating beat flowed like magic from the speakers. Sasuke closed his eyes, nodded his head slightly to the beat, and lifted the microphone again. He began to sing. _He's back!_


	21. Drive You Crazy

**Notes: **We've come this far! Huzzah:D This is NOT the last chapter, I have to close the story damn properly. :P

* * *

_**Part 2: Chapter 10**_

"_The light and the darkness_," his mouth pressed to the mike as his voice came out in a sensuous rush; it made me dizzy with happiness (and lust) but I restrained myself from jumping him right there.

"_Hidden deep inside_," Hinata's voice mingled with his and then fell off into a whisper.

"_Piercing my heart, with those gentle eyes_," he reached a hand out toward the crowd. They collectively reached back, as if they could all touch his outstretched fingers. "_I'm sent to eternity_." The note held, then sunk behind Kiba's soft, pulsing drumbeat--**_Tah tunk-tunk, ta-dah dah dah, da. _**Sasuke licked his lips and opened his mouth to sing again: "_Even when I kick and scream, and even when I cry…_" He opened his eyes; the stage lights momentarily gleamed off of them before he tilted his head down. "_I seem to be invisible, to everyone but you_."

_**Brah-dah dada dada!**_

"_And I--_"

"_Can't shake the feeling my voice goes unnoticed_," I called into my own microphone, my voice intertwining seamlessly with his, as if we had never been apart.

"_And I--_"

"_Can't hide the fact that I want you to notice._"

"_And--_"

"_Sometimes I think It'd be so good to notice…_"

"_The way that you're looking right at me_," he glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes catching mine. The last part of the chorus fell numbly from my lips as he soundlessly repeated the word: "_Tonight…_" He turned away again, focusing once more on the audience. I blinked. _That look… What was that all about? It was so…_

"_Wandering the voice between…_"

(Intense. Wasn't that the word they used?)

"_Zero and infinity,_" Hinata's voice snapped me out of my stupor. Thank god I'd still had the sense to keep playing.

"_Where both extremes are nothing_," he whispered to the audience and they hung on every word, on him; they craved Sasuke and the music he sang. Frankly, I couldn't blame them. "_Silence tells me secretly--_"

"_In muted, colored tones_," Hinata and I joined his voice this time.

"_That you're the one to teach me--_"

"_How the sound goes!_"

_**Bah dun-dun!**_

"_I wrap my arms around you,_" he literally circled his arms around himself, "_and know I should hold tight._" His head lowered and a lot of the girls in the audience screamed; I knew what look he was giving them--the 'uber-sexy-dark-stare-from-under-unruly-hair' look. I fairly melted on the spot just thinking about it. "_But the sound is getting louder so I can't go any higher till,_" he raised one arm over his head, "_you lift me up again! And I--_"

"_Can't shake the feeling my voice goes unnoticed_," I joined him again.

"_And I--_"

"_Can't hide the fact that I want you to notice._"

"_And--_"

"_Sometimes I think It'd be so good to notice…_"

"_The way that you're looking right at me--_"

"_Tonight._"

_**Ka-dun dun! Dun dundundundun! Bah-dun!**_

"_I'm--_" he threw his head back and began howling into the mike. "--_breaking away! I'm--_" his free hand snapped back as his body arched forward into the lights, toward the crowd. Fresh cheers, louder than ever, echoed across the campus. "--_breaking out again! Can you--_" the hand beckoned at the mob of people. "--_save me? If you care, or does that drive you crazy!_" **_Bahdundundun! _**"_Sing to me with gentle tones, and maybe I'll be satisfied. Or we can rest in silence, knowing what's on the other's mind_."

"_Or does that drive you crazy?_" Hinata and I cried out again, but Sasuke's voice lifted higher than that, higher than the guitars and the drums and the _shakuhachi_ recorded on the synthesizer, and the _koto _that had suddenly joined it as the tempo picked up abruptly. And in a sudden rush, everything stopped. Sasuke was perched at the edge of the stage, leaning over, one arm out, the mike tucked inside the arch of his body. And then, the drums exploded.

_**BA-DUM! DUM! DUMDUMDUMDUMDUMDUMDUMDUM!**_

"_And I--_" he turned to look at me, his body still angled toward the audience and illuminated by the stage lights. It radiated like an aura.

"_Can't shake the feeling my voice goes unnoticed_," I smiled softly. _Welcome back, Sasuke._

"_And I--_"

"_Can't hide the fact that I want you to notice._"

"_And--_"

"_Sometimes I think It'd be so good to notice…_"

"_The way that you're looking right at me--_"

"_Tonight._"

Kiba and Sakura's instruments doubled up: her electric guitar wailed and she stepped forward, Sasuke backed toward me to let her and Kiba be in full view. Kiba pounded on his drums for all he was worth, planning the beats perfectly to fall within the swells and dips of Sakura's chords. The _shakuhachi _and the _koto_ rose high into the night, not sounding the least bit absurd in the mingle of rock music. **_Ba-dum! Dum! Twang! Bah nana nana! Ka-tung! Bah tah-tah tah-tah!_**

_And I--"_

I took a deep breath: "_Can't shake the feeling my voice goes unnoticed_."

"_And I--_"

"_Can't hide the fact that I want you to notice._"

"_And--_"

"_Sometimes I think It'd be so good to notice…_"

"_The way that you're looking right at me--_"

"_Tonight,_" I sang alone. Sasuke took a deep breath and lunged forward as the music reached a crescendo once more.

"_Turn down the volume and bring down the roof; scream at one another till throats rupture! Take turns speaking and listening; the blood spills in silence and hit's the floor loud as a shriek. We'll drive each other crazy!_"

"_Day in and day out, like puppets on strings,_" Hinata sang with him.

"_And I--_"

"_Can't shake the feeling my voice goes unnoticed_."

"_And I--_"

"_Can't hide the fact that I want you to notice._"

"_And--_"

"_Sometimes I think It'd be so good to notice…_"

"_The way that you're looking right at me--_"

"_Tonight._"

"_And I--_"

"_Can't shake the feeling my voice goes unnoticed_."

"_And I--_"

"_Can't hide the fact that I want you to notice._"

"_And--_"

"_Sometimes I think It'd be so good to notice…_"

"_The way that you're looking right at me--_"

"_Tonight._"

We repeated the chorus as the song died. The lower we got, the louder the crowd went until their screams were deafening. The music finally stopped. Sakura dropped her arms thankfully. I lowered my guitar, the new strap hanging comfortably from my shoulders. Sasuke looked back at us and then out at the audience, waiting. Slowly, like ripples in a pond, silence stretched out to all corners of the area. Panting slightly, he grinned and pushed his hair back out of his face.

"How did you guys like it?" he asked and was rewarded with an enthusiastic round of screams. He waited again--a trick to let the band recover before the last song; smart man. The next song was our loudest and fastest, by far. We'd need all the resting we could get. "So, who sings better? Me or the _dobe_?"

"Screw you, Sasuke!" I laughed, gesturing rudely at him. He took it with a cool glance, as usual, but I also knew he was laughing. People were yelling his name; some were hollering mine. "Look at that," I lifted my eyebrows with a teasing grin. "It looks like I could easily take your place if you ever decide to leave." It was the most blatant thing I could say, I thought. And Sasuke totally caught me off-guard as he actually smiled at me and shook his head.

"Get used to being a back-up," he winked, then turned back to the audience. "I'm staying for life."

The response was overwhelming. Kiba howled and started up the drums to the final song--"For You". Sakura giggled and started up as well. Sasuke looked back again, catching my eyes with his once more. His smile was true: he _would _stay, he just wasn't sure if he _could_. I gave him a nod and returned the smile, and as he turned to address the fans again, I had the feeling he knew what I had thought, even though I hadn't said it out loud: _For life. That's what I wanted to hear…_

_Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!

* * *

_

_**Pah-pah, ba-da-da-da-da da-dah!**_

_**Bah dah-da-da-da-da da-dah!**_

_**Ba-dah bada bah da-da-da!**_

_**Tah ta-pah! Tah ta-pah! Tarararararararatah!

* * *

**_

"_Pen and paper in my hand_." **_Dah dada dada da-da daaaaaaah dadada!_** "_Thinking up this song for you_. _Haven't seen you, for days now, I'm not sure what to do_." **_Daradara da-dah! _**"_Listening to the radio, singing all the songs that remind me of you_, a_nd remind me of the things we used to say—_" **_Bah pah-dadadadadada-da da-da!_** "_And all the stuff we swore to do_." **_Parrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrah pah!_** "_Everyday I look for you_." 

"_For you!_"

"_I want to tell you everything, and have you tell me everything too. So, I'm always looking for you--_"

"_For you!_"

"_Daydreaming about the times together; I had everything when we were together_." **_Bah dah dada-da-da-dadadah dah dah!_**

* * *

"_It seems I ask for everything, when all I want is you_." **_Bararararararararararah! Bah! Bah!_** "_And everyday I look for you_—"

* * *

_**BarararararaPahdararararaDahpahpapapapapapapapaBRAHDAHDAHDAPAHPAH!**_

"_When I'm not there for you, it hurts me like you can't know_." **_Buh-dah-duh, buh-dah-duh, buh-dah-duh!_** "_Because you're always there for me; I'll try to be a better friend, so—_" **_Badah! _**"_Tell me the truth without subtlety, so I can keep learning more from you. To be the friend I can never seem to be—the one I want to be for you. So…_" **_BAH!_** "_Everyday I look for you—_"

* * *

"_So I can tell you every time I see you, 'I love you' and 'I miss you'_… _And 'I'll always be here for you'_." 

"_For you_!"

"_I'm looking at a star now_--"

"_--just for you._"

"_And hoping through my eyes that you can see it too. I make a wish on it for you_—"

"_For you_!"

"_And watch it fade away. It's sucked into the brand new day—the sun-lit sky is like our lives, you know. But I still want to be there_--"

"--_just for you._"

"_And I want to be a better person_--"

"--_just for you._"

"_And I just want to let you know now, that I don't care what other people say, or what they think they know_. _My dearest friend, I will always dream, of all the times we had together; and remember always, your words of advice, and try to be all you need—_"

"_For you…_"

_**Bah-da-da-da-da-dah DAH!**_


	22. High Emotions

**Notes: **Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Almost done! One more chapter! Yes, the previous song was called "Drive You Crazy" by the way. Yeah, next comes the final chapter; the part I'm POSITIVE you've all been waiting for. Let's just hope I can write it. XD

* * *

_**Part 2: Chapter 11**_

Between the noise of the crowd, Sasuke's eyes, and my suddenly-boundless happiness, the stage was cleared in record time. All I could computer coherently were different voices calling my name and congratulating me. Hands clapped my back; I couldn't keep track of it all. Sharingan regrouped in the Breezeway Common Room. When I entered last, I saw the others put down their respective armloads and plop down beneath the air-conditioning vents; I followed suit, joining Sasuke on the long couch where he sat with his hands laced together and his chin resting upon them, his face dark. When I sat, he looked around, counting heads, then nodded and cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry," he spoke slowly from behind his clasped hands. "When I saw my brother at the café, all I could think about was finally getting answers--why he left me behind all those years ago; why was he in a band all of a sudden, and here, of all places?" He took a deep breath. "I got so absorbed in my past that I was…"

"Losing us," Haku finished for him gently and he flinched.

"Yeah. And I'm sorry," he concluded. There was a slight pause as no one took the opportunity to speak; we were all studying him, judging his sincerity.

Ino, blatant as ever, was the first to speak up: "You were being a real ass, you know that?"

"Ino!" Sakura hissed.

"What? He was!" the blond protested back. Sakura opened her mouth again but Sasuke spoke up, cutting her off.

"No, she's right," he waved it off, "I was being an ass." He glanced over his hands at me, "Especially to you, Naruto. I'm sorry."

"Gay," Kiba coughed and Shino promptly smacked him upside the head. "Ouch!"

I grinned, but kept my eyes on Sasuke: "Yeah, I know. Answers. We need those a lot."

He made a slight face. "So, is it okay if I stay in the band?"

"I don't know." Gaara said, looking scarily innocent. "What do you think, Haku?"

"I think it's for the entire band to decide," Haku returned the innocent stare and glanced around at everyone. "Who thinks Sasuke should, for his previous behavior and for lack of better terminology, go fuck off?"

"Thanks, Haku," Sasuke face-faulted.

"All those in favor of the anti-social bastard sticking around?" Shikamaru raised his hand lazily. Everyone else laughed and followed suit.

"This is payback, isn't it?" Sasuke sighed.

"Not yet," Shino promised, a slight smile hidden behind his tall-collared coat.

"You know what?" I looked up suddenly. "There was one good thing that came out of all this; kinda made it all worth it, you could say." Everyone looked at me like I was nuts.

"How could you possibly say that?" Hinata wailed, looking distressed just _thinking _about what had happened.

"What's that?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow warily.

"Neji got the crap slapped outta him!" I giggled, falling back into the couch. The others laughed too, Sasuke looking a bit relieved. Hinata turned bright red and tried to bury her face into Kiba's jacket, and he stroked a hand back through her short black hair. The lounge door creaked open and a familiar voice called into the room:

"I hope we're not interrupting anything."

I jumped up and whirled to face the door. "Iruka-sensei!" He waved and gave me a little grin, stepping into the lounge and allowing another man to enter the lounge after him. It was a silver-haired man reading an orange book…which could be described as being 'questionable' in taste.

"Naruto," he looked at the others around me, "everyone, you were all wonderful up there!" The compliment was sincere.

"Aw, shucks teach," Sasuke grinned back, "you're making us blush." Iruka laughed softly and placed a hand on top of my head. Ever since I came here to college, Iruka's been like the father I never had; he's as strict as any real father too.

"Did you watch the whole thing?" I asked him, unable to hide my eagerness.

"Yes, I did," he nodded. "And again, I was impressed. So was my friend."

"Friend?" Sakura blinked and now everyone's attention was on the silver-haired man behind Iruka--the manager of Kinjutsu Records, Hayate Kakashi.

He lifted one hand, not looking up from his…book: "Yo."

"Naruto, guys, I'd like you to meet Hayate Kakashi, a very good friend of mine," Iruka started.

"How good of a friend?" Kiba asked warily and I swear, if I'd had something to throw, I would have chucked it at his head--_Shut UP, you homophobe!_

"Kakashi is the head manager and talent scout at Kinjutsu Records," Iruka confirmed what I already knew. "It's a fairly small recording company." He should have just stopped there, because everyone stopped paying attention at the word _kinjutsu_, and were just open-mouth-gaping at the slightly taller man with the 'graphic novel'. "I spoke with him at the end of last term, and I told him about the live performance you did on the West Lawn. I asked him if he could visit this weekend so he could see you perform first-hand."

"And I did like what I heard," he finally looked up from his book, his one visible eye sending a ripple of shivers through the group. "So to speak bluntly," he went back to reading (I think), "I'm offering you a three year/five album contract." …_That was a little _too_ blunt if you ask me… _No one said anything; we couldn't think to speak, much less know what we would say to that.

"Erm…" Iruka looked nervous, "What do you all think?"

I looked over my shoulder at the others; they were exchanging shocked glances. Finally, we all turned our collective heads to gape at Iruka and Kakashi.

"**_WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOO!_**" Kiba screamed, leaping to his feet. And just like that, the impenetrable silence that had grabbed us was suddenly gone--everyone threw themselves at one another and shrieked and whooped and yelled. I joined the dog pile in the middle of the lounge floor, then we were up and doing some type of stomping, river-dance-like thing, and that turned into full-out moshing, but then _that_ had us with Sakura, Ino, and Hinata up on people's shoulders and more whooping and screaming and Ciaran barking madly and running around us in little circles. Somehow through the tangle, I spotted Sasuke and threw myself at him. He caught me easily, laughing and hugging me tight. I positively _purred_ and snuggled against him. _Sasuke…_

"We did it!" I grinned up at him madly.

He nodded, breaking out into a wide grin: "Yeah, we did."

And then, I don't know how, but the two of us were stumbling out of the lounge as the others continued to scream and jump and proceeded to tackle Iruka, who went down with an "ACK!" before he was swallowed by a mass of bodies. And Kakashi continued to, erm, read. Sasuke and I turned left instead of right--which led back to the Battle of the Bands, where someone else was already performing--and wound up in the student parking lot. I couldn't stop grinning (it was starting to hurt) and I refused to let go of Sasuke's hand. I was still thinking that maybe this was all a dream, and I'd wake up tomorrow, the actual morning of the competition, and Sasuke wouldn't show up at all. I clung to him almost desperately to ward off the thought. He had to have noticed, because I felt his hand brush a few strands of hair from my face and when I looked up at him, he smiled gently and I melted all over again.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Whoever's not okay after they've just been offered a label is just retarded," I stuck my tongue out at him. He regarded me carefully for a full minute or so. "What?" I blinked.

He shrugged and dropped his hand to mine, clasping it firmly: "How did you like your present?"

"You know," I thought about the guitar strap and could barely contain my giddyness, "you can't buy me something every time you mess up."

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" he pouted and I burst into another round of giggles. A pout on him looked too _cute!_ "But seriously," he squeezed my hand slightly, "did you like it?"

"No, Sasuke, no," I rolled my eyes and he made a face at me. "Of course I did! And I'm the _dobe_?"

"Oh, do shut up," he grinned.

"Suke?"

Like a glass falling from my fingertips, his entire demeanor shattered in the blink of an eye. He and I both turned back toward the breezeway, and for a split second, I thought I was seeing double. Oh god no… _Itachi!_

"Um," I looked back to Sasuke timidly, "I'll go, okay? I'll meet you back up in the r--"

"Stay with me." I blinked. Sasuke held onto my hand a little tighter: "Stay with me, Naruto."

I nodded. The taller Uchiha took a few uncertain steps forward, decided it was better for his health and Sasuke's sanity to stay back a decent conversation-distance, and tucked his hands wearily into his pockets.

"Good show," he started.

"Thank you," Sasuke spoke through gritted teeth--his hand clenched tighter; I think I was a lifeline at that point. "…what are you doing here, Itachi?"

"I wanted to see you perform," the other man admitted, looking almost child-like as he turned his face downward and scuffed his feet nervously on the pavement. "Kabuto heard you were entering the competition, and I decided I wanted to see you."

"After ten years?"

"Suke…"

"Don't you call me that anymore; I'm not a little kid."

"But you're still my brother, Sasuke."

There was a pause as that statement hung in the air. Sasuke began to tremble. I stood closer to him and wrapped one arm around his waist, pressing my forehead to his upper arm. He clenched my hand so hard, it hurt, but I wasn't about to let him go.

"Why, Itachi?" he choked out; the tears were coming. "Why did you just abandon me? Why did you just…leave me there? Did you just not care enough? Was I too much for you to handle on your own? Tell me why for_godsakesIdon'tUNDERSTAND!_" The rest of his rant came out in a rush as he broke down into sobs that silenced rapidly to mere whimpers. His shoulders hitched occasionally and he hiccupped, sniffling hard. Itachi just looked at him, his reddish-amber eyes studying his younger brother, and then, briefly, skipping behind him to me. I shivered.

He looked back to Sasuke: "I never hated you, in case you're wondering." I heard Sasuke's breath catch in his throat. "I thought about you everyday, if you can believe that."

"Then why--?" Sasuke choked.

"Mom and dad didn't have nearly enough money saved for you and I to live together on our own," Itachi's eyes bore into Sasuke's, and I felt his entire body rack with shivers. "So with what little money they did have, I put you in the orphanage and went to live with Orochimaru until I could get myself situated. But when I went back to the orphanage to look for you a few years ago, I couldn't find you."

Sasuke stopped shaking: "You…went to get me?"

"Of course," Itachi nodded. There was more silence; a stretched, strained silence that wrapped around the two brothers and encased them in their own little world; I released Sasuke, all but his hand. Our fingers stayed linked.

"Why are you in a band, Tachi?" I heard Sasuke ask in a calm voice and I nearly broke into a smile. I covered it with my hand.

Itachi _did _smile: "Kabuto suggested it'd be easier to find you that way."

Sasuke nodded. "What are you going to do now?" he asked.

"I don't know," Itachi shrugged. "I did start a line of musical accessories--"

"I saw," Sasuke nodded and tightened his grip reassuringly on my hand once more. "How is that?"

"I'm much better at that then singing," Itachi grinned self-consciously. "Unlike you. Were those your lyrics?" Sasuke nodded. "Good. You always wanted to be in a band." He finally turned to me and addressed me, sort of. "And that's one of your bandmates?"

"My boyfriend," Sasuke pulled me forward a bit, "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki Naruto," the older extended a hand. I took it, and we shook. He had a firm shake; I finally let myself smile.

"From what I heard, you're pretty good yourself," I recalled. He shook his head, offering me a pleasant smile.

"No, no. I just know what I'm doing," he gestured to the both of us. "You guys have all the talent."

"We got offered a label with Kinjutsu," Sasuke mentioned.

"Good for you," Itachi beamed at him; the brotherly affection showed in his face, and suddenly, I liked Itachi. I hoped Sasuke had a new impression about him now. "I'll let you get back to the concert; I'm sure your bandmates are waiting for you to celebrate."

"Yeah," Sasuke released my hand and reached for Itachi's. "Look me up. You finally know where to find me."

"Itachi clasped Sasuke's hands in both of his and grinned: "I'll just ask your friend, Neji."

"Oh, please do rub it in," Sasuke grinned and Itachi laughed--it was well-natured, pleasant-sounding.

"I'll make sure to," he headed toward the guest parking lot. "Take care, Suke. You too, Naruto."

We waved until he turned his back and strode toward the other lot. Sasuke took my hand again. I looked up at him. He looked at me for a moment, then broke into a broad smile.

"Got your answers?" I nudged him and we started walking back toward the dorms.

"Yeah," he nudged me back and we started climbing the stairs. "Are you sure you don't want to go back down to the others? They might be breaking out the bottles right now…"

In response, I leaned up and kissed him softly.

"On second thought, let's go to your room," he abruptly dragged me up the stairs.


	23. You and Music

_**Part 2: Chapter 12**_

I was a little dizzy. Sasuke was leading me up the stairs to my room on the third floor, and as he dragged me up the staircase, the dizziness turned into nausea. _But, why? I…I want this, don't I?_ I stopped. Sasuke instantly turned to me, concern softening his features.

"Naruto, are you okay?" he asked me and I opened my mouth to say that no, I was _not_ okay, that I was worried this was just Sasuke trying to push his own problems out of his mind like before. I was scared of it being meaningless to him--that was the one thing I never wanted. Sasuke meant a lot to me, from his incredible looks to his quietly-commanding personality, and his secret, gentle smile. I didn't want all that to be ruined by what could possibly be a one-night stand; I didn't want him to want me just for the physicality of it all, and I opened my mouth to explain all of this to him but all that came out was a dry squeak. He tilted his head and considered me carefully before speaking up again: "If you really want to, we can go back downstairs," he offered gently. And for some reason, that one sentence answered all my questions and made me happier than I could ever imagine. He blinked and a worried look crossed his face. "Naruto?"

"Yes?" I managed to choke out.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm not--" I was crying. Silent tears had suddenly began falling from my eyes and Sasuke lifted a hand to my cheek so delicately, I cried harder.

"Did I…say something wrong?" he asked uncertainly. "Do you really…not want to be up here with me…?" I shook my head and threw my arms around his neck, burying his face into his chest. I felt him start against me, then quickly relaxed and placed his other hand lightly on my waist. "Naruto," he pulled back to look into my eyes; I shivered. "If you don't want to spend tonight with me…" his cheeks took on a pale pink tinge, "it really is alright. I realize it's kind of sudden, and last time…" Now he looked away. He remembered what happened too. To reply, I leaned up and brushed my lips against the spot I had punched that night.

"I do love you, Sasuke," I spoke as well as my tightly-wound nerves allowed me to. "You have to had realized that by now."

He nodded. "I know I haven't shown it at all recently, but I do feel the same way. I really do." Our eyes met for an instant that seemed like an eternity. The hand on my face stroked along the three scars on my cheek softly. He leaned closer. I knew I was breathing, but I couldn't even comprehend why--I was dead, I had to be. This was suddenly too perfect, too _right._

The few kisses Sasuke and I have ever shared were either small brushed against skin or a few blissful moments where our lips met and left our minds behind. This one was different: my heart lurched, my mind spun, my skin burned, and I felt as if I was floating, flying, _soaring_, even. I don't know why this one kiss was any different, but it was, and I knew Sasuke felt it too. He made a soft noise against my mouth and I inhaled him sharply as my arms held tighter and my hands clenched--one in his shirt and one in his hair--as his own hands gripped my face and hip tightly.

Suddenly, we were at my door and I was fumbling with my keys one-handed as the kiss escalated (if that were at all possible at this point). After a bit of blind, constantly-interrupted searching, I got my keys out and into the lock. The door fell open and we toppled inside with it. Sasuke's back hit the side of the closet; I was already trying to wrench off my jacket. His hands pushed up my black t-shirt to reveal my stomach and the spiral tattoo that was etched onto my belly. He set his palm against it as he continued to kiss me and drag me toward the bed at the same time. The warmth of his fingers spread out from my stomach and reached out to every point of my body, like wildfire. My hands were pulling at the navy blue turtleneck. He had to move away to get it off and I hurriedly rid myself of the suddenly-unbearable shirt as he pulled the heavy material up over his head. His hair fell in a disheveled tangle over his forehead, and I grabbed his face this time and pulled his mouth hurriedly to mine--it was as if the entire kiss was the only source of oxygen left in our own little world.

"Naruto…" he mumbled against me, his teeth catching on my bottom lip and sucking on it lightly. I moaned loudly and that seemed to be his cue; we kissed again and Sasuke leaned heavily against me, overpowering me and forcing me to drop down to the mattress where I was pinned--his hands on either side of my shoulders and his body angled against mine. "Naruto…" he said my name again as he pulled his mouth from mine and took an instant to gaze down at me.

I returned the look, the pause allowing my uncertainty to rear its head once more: "Sasuke…?"

"Mm?" he cocked his head slightly to one side, his hair falling over his eyes. I reached up and wrapped my arms around him, laying my forehead in the cradle of his neck. One of his hands came to my back and brushed up along my spine, making me shiver. The other hand clasped at my hip and slowly inched toward the button of my shorts.

"Sasuke," I mumbled against him, feeling the heat rise from my neck to the tips of my ears. His hand stopped at my words. "I…don't know what I'm doing." He pulled back and gave me a slightly confused look and if I weren't so embarrassed, I'd have laughed at the expression. Then, understanding flashed in his eyes and he lay me back down on the bed, his knees framing my hips and his hands on the waistband of my shorts.

"Like _I _know what to do, _dobe_?" he answered with a teasing smile.

"But…" I turned my head away from the sight of him (which was positively to die for, by the way), "you just… you seem to know what you're doing, and I…"

"Don't know," he shook his head. "Neither do I. But I do know one thing--" He leaned over, one hand striking the mattress and startling me into looking back up at his face: "I want you."

"Sasuke…" I blushed harder.

"So, relax," his other hand had already slipped the button open and he was tugging my zipper down slowly, "unless, of course, you don't want to do this." He paused, lifting his hand back to my waist. I was shaking, I knew it and he did too. I breathed in deeply, keeping my eyes on his; he didn't break our stare, he just waited patiently, a half-smile curving one corner of his mouth upward. I tried to find something wrong with this situation, like _'we're moving too fast'_ or _'neither of us have any idea what to do'_, but no matter what I tried to come up with, the only thing that was constant in my brain was _'I love you'_. I love Uchiha Sasuke with all my heart and soul, through hell and back again (as we just experienced), and through his faults and my fears. If I couldn't be comfortable with him, no matter the situation, that wasn't being fair to him. Besides, even if we do make fools of ourselves, we'll only be doing it in front of each other--and if, my deepest fear occurred and he left me after tonight, after seeing me at my weakest and involuntary state, then I'd rather chance it and be hurt by him. Because I love him. This internal dialogue only took a second, but for my terrified mind it seemed like I was debating this for hours, days. I blinked and swallowed softly, my hands reaching up and gripping at his waist briefly, then slipping along the front of his jeans and undoing the button-zipper combo in a flash. "Ah--!" was all Sasuke managed to get out as I dragged the black jeans from his hips and pulled them off his legs, pushing him onto his back and straddling him.

"You're too slow," I grinned playfully.

"You--" I leaned over and pressed my lips to his neckline, my tongue flicking out and tasting his skin. "--ah…ah…"

"Said something?" I mumbled against his flesh, trailing my tongue down to his collarbone and kissing slowly down his chest.

"I said…" he panted slightly and I licked the flat of his chest, my teeth gnashing slightly against his nipple. "Ngh…!"

"Mm-hmm?" I lowered my head to his stomach, running the tip of my tongue along the muscles slightly. He suddenly rocked his hips upward and I pulled away; his hands were at my shoulders and then I was back down on the other end of the bed. "Ack!"

Sasuke reached between us and positively yanked the shorts off my hips. "That was my reward for being nice?" he made a face as he clasped my thighs and dragged me closer; my legs were up along his arms, my knees almost at my chest. "I'll show you slow," he said and I _heard_ the smirk on his face.

"Don't… go slow…" I shook my head and then let it fall back as he positioned the both of us, both hastily and clumsily.

"I have to," the tone of his voice changed and I pulled my head back up to look at him. "I don't want to hurt you." He said it with a slight blush. I reached up and brought his head down to mine, pressing our foreheads together.

"It's okay. Remember, I don't know either," I murmured.

"Maybe we should call this a practice run?" he grinned and I laughed, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and squeezing him tight.

"As long as I'm hurt by you, it's alright," I whispered. Sasuke lowered me back down to the bed and kept one arm bracingly at my side. His other arm looped with my leg and pushed it up, allowing him space to move. Thank god I'm flexible.

"Pain is love?" he lifted an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes: "We're gonna get _nothing_ accomplished tonight." He chuckled and lay the inside of my knee against his shoulder, clasping my thigh lightly.

"You never were one for subtlety, huh?" he teased.

"Should I be blatant?" I gave him an innocent pout.

"You should start making more interesting noises," he shifted his weight and slowly pushed himself into me.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it _hurt_, that was for sure. I managed not to scream, but I yelped loudly and clenched my fingers in the bed sheets. Sasuke pulled out, not completely, and reached up with his bracing hand, touching my arm reassuringly. I released the sheets with one hand and clasped it over his, giving a slight nod. Sasuke thrust gently again, and this time I inhaled sharply, biting my lip. He ran his tongue over my mouth and I opened it to allow a kiss as he hesitantly began building a slow, steady pace. With each rock of his hips I made a noise against his mouth and when he moaned in response, I began trying to match his rhythm. I was awkward about it for a few moments, then my brain suddenly made a connection: _it's just like music._ The steady rocking of Sasuke's thrusts were like the beats of a song, the rolling of my hips in time with his was like a strand of melody repeating in one continuous loop. The creaking of the bedsprings, my gasps and his grunts, they were all part of the overall composure that made a song. And I don't know why but there were suddenly tears in my eyes and then my body moved flawlessly on its own. I pushed down as his hips arched forward and his breathing quickened slightly, silently demanding that he move faster, that he change the tempo. He complied, wordlessly as well, and lifted himself up, placing both hands on either side of my head. I lifted my other leg and pressed both to my chest, reaching over and placing my hands on his shoulders.

Sasuke cut into me again, gasping breathlessly as he pushed his lower body against mine faster and faster. His usually-tidy hair fell over his face in damp strands and stuck to his neck and I ran my hands back through his black hair and gripped it briefly, pulling his head back slightly. He threw his weight completely into the next thrust and now I was screaming noiselessly as I arched my back hard, dragging my fingertips down his shoulders and to his chest, where I lay my palms flat on his body. Sasuke moved even faster, fumbling in his motions slightly as he reached blindly for the headboard and locked his elbows, bracing himself as he rocked into me over and over again and I gasped and panted and yelped his name (at least I think I was; I wasn't quite coherent at this point). One of his hands came off the headboard and reached between us, gripping my length firmly in one _very_ cold hand. I cried out and bucked beneath him but he forced me down again with his hips and began moving his hand against me _way_ too slowly. I growled his name (I think) and arched deliberately into his hand. He gasped softly and slowed his hips slightly to concentrate on his hand, which was doing wonderful things to me. I made too many noises to keep track of as his palm brushed up and down along my throbbing (yes, _throbbing_) member, gripping tightly as it moved faster, more intensely. My entire lower body felt as if it were on fire, and my hands fell back to the bed, clenching desperately in the sheets as I felt the pressure building inside me like a dull ache, becoming sharper and more unbearable, and then, finally, _blissfully_, it exploded outward and I climaxed into Sasuke's hand as I screamed for him.

He gasped and released me, sliding the wet hand up along my torso and coming to grip my neck, near the back of my head. His thrusts suddenly sped up again and he started breathing raggedly, his head dropped, the one arm bracing against the headboard trembling visibly. "N-Na…" If at all possible, his thrusts became faster. "Naru…" And harder. "Naru… Naruto!" He shouted and squeezed his eyes shut as his hands clenched convulsively on the headboard and in my hair, and he let himself go. I closed my eyes as the heat spilled into me--_Sasuke's inside me… I can't believe… Sasuke…_ He pulled away and his entire body relaxed. Sasuke lowered himself to lie atop my chest and I slipped my arms about his shoulders, kissing the top of his head softly. My heart was finally calming down, and eventually, his breathing slowed as well. We fell into a comfortable silence, broken only by an occasional long breath. Finally, he shifted in my arms and turned his head up to look at me. "Did I hurt you…?"

"It's okay, remember?" now I kissed his forehead. He gave a tight-lipped smile, but then studied me closely with his dark eyes.

"You were crying. Are you sure--?"

"It wasn't because you were hurting me. I was happy."

"You were crying because you were happy?" he looked adorably confused.

I laughed softly: "Yes." He gave me a look that plainly said _you're weird._ "You and music are the two most important things in my life."

"And you just happened to realize that in the middle of having sex?" one dark eyebrow lifted again and I laughed once more, kissing his nose this time.

"I know, I'm weird," I shrugged. He shrugged back and propped himself up on his elbows, his body still resting atop mine.

"You and music," he agreed with a nod. "It's all I've got."

"You have plenty of other things too," I pointed out.

"It's all I _want_," he reiterated with a tired smile. I flashed him another grin. "You're so damn cute sometimes, you know?"

"Why thank you."

"Smart ass."

"I'm hungry."

He sat up slowly, lowering his feet over the side of the bed. "We'll go out. My treat."

"I want ramen!" I jumped out of the bed, grabbing my shorts and running for my shirt.

"Is anything even open now? It's nearly ten," he stood, gathering his clothes at a more relaxed pace.

"I wonder who won the contest," I hopped into my shorts and tried to find the bottom of my shirt so I could put it on as I ignored his question. That was irrelevant--we'd find something open.

"We could ask the others," he had gotten his pants and turtleneck on with no problems.

"Can they come too?" I ran out of the bathroom and scooped up my lucky jacket.

"Sure. We'll all celebrate," he shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. I grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room, closing the door behind me and locking it with the keys I had accidentally left in the lock.

"Whoops," I mumbled, locking the door and turning to my dry-erase memo board mounted on the wall beside my door; there was a note on it. "Huh?" I read:

"_Naruto--We came to see if you wanted to go out to celebrate, but you sounded kind of busy, so we left without you. Sorry. Meet at the restaurant on Sixteenth and Thirty-second? Haku._"

"Whoops, again," I chuckled.

"Busy, huh?" Sasuke snickered. "Doing what?"

"Making a song," I pulled him down the hallway with a huge grin. "Now come on, I'm hungry!"

"Yeah, yeah," he allowed himself to be dragged. And we hurried toward the parking lot to meet the rest of Sharingan.

* * *

**Notes: **Yay for M-ratings! XD And that's all, guys! 'In Undertones' is finally complete! Woo! I'm really going to miss writing this, though. And I'll definatley miss all the reviews.:P But hey, I can write more! I don't think there'll be a sequal to this, but I know I'll write again pretty soon! Thank you everyone for all the encouraging reviews! I'm so glad you liked both my lyrics and my writing:D Hope to see you guys in my next big story! Peace out! XP --Kitty 


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